
UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION. 

•-<^^^>~-» 

Division 

Shelf J\ro 

PRESENTED BY 




. # 



^ 



J 



NEW TRANSLATION 



3-3-^ P'O' ^ '>'*- 



X.LC-ci~.X. ^~U 



JOB, ECCLESIASTES, 



THE CANTICLES, 



INTRODUCTIONS, AND NOTES, CHIEFLY 
EXPLANATORY. 



By GEORGE R. NOYES, D.D., 

HANCOCK PK0FES80R OF HEBREW, ETC., AND DEXTER LECTUREB 
IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 



SIXTH EDITION, 



BOSTON: 

AMERICAN UNITARIAN ASSOCIATION. 

1880. 



'^^%'i' 



jsntered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, bv 

THE AMERICAN UNITARIAN ASSOCIATION, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



BY TRANSFER 



MAY 8 \'mM* 



CONTENTS. 

25 ■ 



r ^ 



Page 

Introduction to Job 3 

Job 37 

Introduction to Ecclesiastes 103 

ecclesiastes 125 

Introduction to the Canticles 141 

The Song of Songs (i. q. The Caniicles) . . . . 171 

^OTES ON Job . . .*'^/ • ' / .•: : .-::. 185 

Notes on Ecclesiastes . . . . * 283 

Notes on the Canticles 829 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 



INTEODUCTION TO JOB. 



The work, which it is the design of the present volume to illus- 
trate, is in many respects one of the most remarkable productions 
of any age or country. It is, without doubt, in its general plan, 
as well as in the rhythmical construction and high poetic character 
of its language, the elaborate work of a skilful artist. Deep 
thought and long-continued study must have been united with 
genius in its production. Yet has it, in a much higher degree than 
most compositions, the freshness of an unstudied effusion of the 
soul of the author ; a soul full of the sublimest conceptions of 
the Parent of nature and his glorious works, and of true and deep 
sympathy with all that is great and amiable in the character, and 
affecting in the condition, of man. The imagination of the author 
seems to have ranged freely through every part of the universe, 
and to have enriched itself from almost every department of na- 
ture and of art. Whether he attempt to describe the residence 
of Him *'who maintaineth peace in his high places," or **the 
land of darkness and the shadow of death ; " the passions and pur- 
suits of man, or the nature and features of the animal creation ; 
the phenomena of the air and the heavens, or the dark operations 
of the miner, — he is ever familiar with his subject, and seems to 
tell us what his eyes have seen and his ears have heard. And not 
more remarkable are the richness and vigor of his imagination 
than his power in representing the deep emotions and the tender 
aflfections of the soul. Admirable, too, in a poem of so high anti- 
quity, is the skill with which he makes all the delineations of the 
human heart, and all the descriptions of external nature, subservi- 

[3] 



4 INTRODUCTION TO 

ent to the illustration of one important moral subject ; thus uniting 
the attributes of the poet and philosopher. It is true that we 
miss the perfection of Grecian art in the structure of the work of 
a Hebrew poet who wrote more than a century before -^schylus ; 
and his plan required him to set forth the general workings of the 
human heart, rather than to delineate the nicer shades of human 
character. It was in harmony with the ethical nature of the com- 
position, that his characters should make speeches, rather than 
converse. Yet no one can fail to perceive the unity of design 
which pervades the work, and the adaptation of the various parts 
of it to its completion. 

The first place among the Hebrew poets has usually been as- 
signed to Isaiah. But in what respect the Great Unknown, the 
author of the Book of Job, can be regarded as inferior to any 
Hebrew poet, or any other poet, unless perhaps we except Shaks- 
peare, I am at a loss to conceive. In comprehensiveness of 
thought, and in richness and strength of imagination, he seems to 
me to be unsurpassed ; and in depth and tenderness of feeling 
to be incomparable, when we consider that female loveliness con- 
stitutes no part of the interest of the work. Almost every Chris- 
tian poet has felt his influence in respect both to thought and 
expression. But to delineate the excellences and beauties of the 
Book of Job is a task far beyond my capacity. They must be 
understood and felt, rather than described. 

There has been much discussion in former times, in regard to 
the particular department of poetry and literature under which 
the Book of Job should be classed. Undue importance has with- 
out doubt been attached to this question ; and the scope and spirit 
of the work have in a degree been lost sight of, in the eagerness 
with which dijGFerent writers have sought to establish its claim to 
the appellation of epic or dramatic, or its place in a particular 
department of poetical composition. The truth is, that there is 
nothing which bears an exact resemblance to it in Grecian, Ro- 
man, or modern literature. It has something in common, not 
only with different forms of composition, but with different 
departments of literature. Those who have given it the appel- 
lation of an epic poem have applied to it a term the least 
suited to its character, and the most unjust to its claims as 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 5 

a work of art. They have made unimportant circumstances, in 
regard to its form, of more consequence than its substantial char- 
acter, spirit, and design. Nothing can be more evident than the 
fact, that to excite interest in the personal fortunes of Job, as 
the hero of a poem, was not the principal design of the writer. 
Still less was it his design to unfold characteristic traits in the 
other personages introduced into the work. Some, indeed, have 
discovered, as they supposed, striking characteristic traits in Eli- 
phaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naama- 
thite ; and have pointed out the different degrees of severity which 
they exhibited towards their friend in his distress. It appears to 
me that these writers have drawn largely on their own imagina- 
tions to make their opinions probable. There is, no doubt, some 
diversity in the manner and substance of the discourses of the 
friends of Job. The author may have put the longest and best 
speeches into the mouth of an inhabitant of a city so famous for 
its wisdom as Teman ; * and to Elihu, whom some regard as 
thrust into the place he occupies by a later writer than the author, 
he certainly assigns, at least in the beginning of Elihu's speech, 
and in the preambles in chap, xxxiii. 1-9, 31-33, xxxiv. 2-4, xxxv. 
2-4, the language of a young man who has made rather an extrav- 
agant estimate of his abilities and his consequence. But I seek in 
vain for evidence that the author made it a principal object to 
excite an interest in the actions or characters of the personages 
whom he introduces. He had little dramatic power. 

There is more plausibility in the views of those who have 
regarded and named the Book of Job a dramatic poem. For, 
undoubtedly, the character of Job has a tragic interest, and reminds 
one of the most interesting characters of Grecian tragedy, suffer- 
ing by the will of the gods or the necessities of fate, especially 
the Prometheus Yinctus of ^schylus. In regard to its form, 
there is something that resembles dialogue, — though the per- 
sons taking part in it make speeches rather than converse, — 
and something that bears a distant resemblance to a prologue and 
an epilogue. The author has also skilfully introduced into vari- 
ous parts of the work hints having reference to the final issue of 

* Jer. xlix. 7. 



6 INTRODUCTION TO 

the fortunes of Job, similar to those which occur in the best of the 
Greek tragedies, such as the CEdipus Tyrannus. (See chap. viii. 
6, 7; xvi. 19; xix. 25, &c., compared with chap, xlii.) Still, 
to give the name of a drama or a tragedy to this production is to 
give it a name from what is incidental to it, rather than from its 
pervading spirit and prominent design. To call it a poem of any 
kind fails to suggest the characteristic feature of the work, though 
it contains poetry, which perhaps has never been surpassed. 

If we have regard to the main design, the substance and spirit 
of the work, we shall refer it to the department of moral or reli- 
gious philosophy. It contains the moral or religious philosophy 
of the time when it was produced. It is rather a philosophical 
religious discussion in a poetical form than an epic or dramatic 
poem. It is more nearly allied to the Essay on Man than to Para- 
dise Lost, or Prometheus Yinctus. It is the effusion of the mind 
and heart of the author upon a moral subject which has agitated 
the human bosom in every age. Still, the author was a poet as 
well as a religious philosopher. In the mode of presenting the 
subject to his readers, he aimed, like other poets, to move the 
human feelings by exhibitions of passion and scenes of distress, 
and to please the taste by the sublime flights of his imagination. 
He aimed to give the highest interest to his subject by clothing 
his thoughts in the loftiest language of poetry, and arranging them 
in the measured rhythm which is one of the characteristics of He- 
brew poetry. 

It might be interesting to analyze the pure religious doctrines 
which the author held, and, with wonderful liberality for one of 
the Jewish nation, ascribed to Arabians ; but such an analysis is 
hardly necessary in an introduction to the book. It seems par- 
ticularly remarkable that he should ascribe Divine inspiration to 
Eliphaz the Temanite. (See chap. iv. 12-21.) 

The special subject of this unique production is the ways of 
Providence in regard to the distribution of good and evil in the 
world, in connection with the doctrine of a righteous retribution 
in the present life, such as seemed to be contained in the Jewish 
religion. It sets forth the struggle between faith in the perfect 
government of God, or in a righteous retribution in the present 
life, and the various doubts excited in the soul of man by what it 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 7 

feels 01 sees of human misery, and by what it knows of the pros- 
perity of the contemners of God. These doubts the author 
expresses m strong and irreverent language from the lips of Job ; 
while the received doctrine of an exact earthly retribution, which 
pervades the Jewish religion, is maintained and reiterated by the 
personages mtroduced as the friends of Job. 

The subject is one which comes home to men^s business and 
bosoms. Even under the light of Christianity, perhaps there are 
few who have not in peculiar seasons felt a conflict between faith 
in the perfect government of God, and various feelings excited in 
their minds by what they have experienced or witnessed of human 
suffering. The pains of the innocent, — of those who cannot dis- 
cern their right hand from their left hand, — the protracted calam- 
ities which are often the lot of the righteous, and the prosperity 
which often crowns the designs of the wicked, have at times ex- 
cited wonder, perplexity, and doubt in almost every thoughtful 
mind. We, as Christians, silence our doubts, and confirm our 
faith, by what experience teaches us of the general wisdom and 
benevolence of the Creator, by the consideration that affliction 
comes from the same merciful hand which is the source of all the 
good that we have ever enjoyed, by the perception of the moral 
and religious influences of adversity, and especially by the hope 
of the joy to be realized in a better world, which is set before 
those who endure to the end. The apostle could say for the con- 
solation of himself and his fellow-sufferers, **For I reckon that 
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared 
with the glory which shall be revealed in us." And every Chris- 
tian knows that the Captain of his salvation ascended to his throne 
of glory from the ignominious cross. The cross is the great 
source of the Christian's consolation. But let us suppose our- 
selves to be deprived of those sources of consolation which are 
peculiar to a disciple of Christ, and we may conceive of the state 
of mind of the author of the Book of Job, upon whom the Sun of 
righteousness had never dawned. Is it strange that the soul of a 
pious Jew, who lived before **life and immortality were brought 
to light through the gospel," should have been agitated by the 
conflict between such a faith in temporal retribution as his religion 
seemed to require, and the doubts and murmurings excited by what 



8 INTRODUCTION TO 

he felt and saw of the calamities of the righteous, and witnessed 
of the prosperity of the wicked ? One of the most enlightened of 
the Romans, when called to mourn the early loss of the children 
of his hopes, was led, as he says, almost *'to accuse the godS' 
and to exclaim, that no Providence governed the world." An 
Arabic poet, quoted by Dr. Pococke,* writes: — 

Quot intellectu praestantes in angustias rediguntur, 
Et summ^ stolidos invenies prospere agentes 1 
Hoc est quod animos perplexos relinquit, 
Et egregie doctos Sadducaeos reddit. 

" How many wise men are reduced to distress, 
And how man}- fools will you find in prosperity ! 
It is this that leaves the mind in perplexity, 
And makes Sadducees of very learned men." 

We think that many have stated too strongly the argument for 
the immortality of the soul, drawn from the apparent inequalities 
of the present state. To maintain that there is little or no retri- 
bution in this part of the Creator's dominions appears to me not 
the best way of proving that there will be a perfect one in another 
part of them. Nor is such a representation true. To a very 
important extent, ** we still have justice here." But the senti- 
ments referred to above, respecting the limited retributions of the 
present life, may serve to illustrate the mental condition of a pious 
man of exalted genius, who appears to have had no conception, 
or at least no belief, of a state after death that was desirable in 
comparison with the present life. 

In Ps. Ixxiii. we have the thoughts which passed through the 
mind of another upon the same subject : — 

*' Yet my feet almost gave way ; 
My steps had well nigh slipped : 
For I was envious of the profane, 
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked," &c. 

Ps. xxxvii. may also be considered as being upon the same sub- 
ject, and so likewise the Book of Ecclesiastes ; though a more 
sceptical spirit seems to pervade the latter than either of the 
psalms above mentioned, or the Book of Job. 

* Not. in Port. Mos. c. vii. 0pp. p. 214. 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 9 

Such being tlie subject which filled the mind of the author of 
this book, the question arises, how he has treated it, or what he 
aimed to accomplish in regard to it. That in his own view he had 
solved all the difficulties which embarrass the human understanding 
in regard to the subject is not very probable. But that he pro- 
posed to establish some definite truths in relation to it, as well as 
to inculcate the duty of entire submission to God, and unreserved 
faith in him, is, I think, clear. I do not believe, with De Wette, 
that he meant to leave the subject an utter mystery, and merely 
to bring man to a helpless consciousness of his ignorance. The 
prologue and epilogue, which this writer admits to be genuine, to 
say nothing of the speech of Elihu, refute such an opinion. The 
most prominent part of the author's design is, indeed, to enforce 
the duty of unqualified submission to the will of God, and of rev- 
erential faith amid all the difficulties which perplex the understand- 
ing in relation to the government of God. But a part of it is also 
to illustrate the truth, that moral character is not to be inferred 
from outward condition (see chap, xxxiii. 19-28) ; that afflictions 
are designed as the trial of piety, and as means for its advance- 
ment ; and that they lead in the end to higher good than would 
otherwise be obtained ; and thus to assert eternal providence, and 
justify the ways of God to man. And, while he enforces the duty 
of entire submission to God, he incidentally intimates that un- 
founded censures and unkind treatment of a friend in distress are 
more offensive to the Deity than those expressions of impatience 
which affliction may wring from the lips of the pious.* 

The author aims to show, that, in the distribution of good and 
evil in the world, God is sometimes influenced by reasons which 
man can neither discover nor comprehend, and not solely by the 
merit or demerit of his creatures ; that the righteous are often 
afflicted, and the wicked prospered : but that this course of provi- 
dence is perfectly consistent with wisdom, justice, and goodness 
in the Deity, though man is unable to discern the reasons of it ; 
that afflictions are often intended as the trials of piety and the 
means of moral improvement ; that man is an incompetent judge of 
the Divine dispensations ; that, instead of rashly daring to pene- 

* Chap. xlii. 7. 
1* 



10 INTRODUCTION TO 

trate or to censure the counsels of his Creator, it is his duty to 
submit to his will, to reverence his character, and to obey his 
laws ; and that the end will prove the wisdom as well as the obli- 
gation and the happy consequences of such submission, rever- 
ence, and obedience. 

In this view, I have taken the whole book, as we now have it, 
to be genuine. I think this supposition is attended with the 
fewest difficulties. Those who discard the speech of Elihu, the 
twenty-eighth chapter and part of the twenty-seventh, and the 
prose introduction and conclusion, must give, of course, an ac- 
count of it somewhat different. They imagine that by the exclu- 
sion of these portions they give greater unity to the composition. 
But where did they learn that every poem must have perfect unity, 
or even perfect consistency ? 

In order to accomplish the design, or express the views, which 
I have exhibited, in such a manner that his work should possess 
the highest interest for his readers, the author employs a form of 
composition resembling that of the drama. He brings forward a 
personage, celebrated probably in the traditions of his country 
on account of the distinguished excellence of his character, and 
the marvellous vicissitudes through which he had passed. In the 
delineation of the character and fortunes of this personage, he 
uses the liberty of a poet in stating every thing in extremes, or in 
painting every thing in the broadest colors, that he might thus the 
bettei' illustrate the moral truth, and accomplish the moral pur- 
pose, which he had in view. 

He introduces to the reader an inhabitant of the land of Uz, 
in the northern part of Arabia, equally distinguished by his piety 
and his prosperity. He was pronounced by the Searcher of 
hearts an upright and good man ; and he was surrounded by a 
happy family, and was the most wealthy of all the inhabitants of 
the East. 

If virtue and piety could in any case be a security against calam- 
ity, then must Job's prosperity have been lasting. Who ever had 
more reason for expecting continued prosperity, the favor of men, 
and the smiles of Providence ? *' But, when he looked for good, 
evil came," A single day produces a complete reverse in his 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 11 

condition, and reduces Hm from the height of prosperity to the 
lowest depths of misery. He is stripped of his possessions. His 
children, a numerous family, for whom he had never forgotten to 
offer to God a morning sacrifice, are buried under the ruins of 
their houses, which a hurricane levels with the ground ; and, finally, 
he is afflicted, in his own person, with a most loathsome and dan- 
gerous disease. Thus the best man in the world has become the 
most miserable man in the world. 

The reader is made acquainted in the outset with the cause of 
the afflictions of Job. At an assembly of the sons of God, — that 
is, the inhabitants of heaven, — in the presence of the Governor 
of the world, an evil spirit, Satan, the adversary or accuser in the 
court of heaven, had come, on his return from an excursion over 
the earth, t@ present himself before God, or to stand in readiness 
to receive his commands. Jehovah puts the question to Satan, 
whether he had taken notice of the model of human excellence 
exhibited in the character of his servant Job, and sets forth the 
praise of this good man in terms so emphatic as to excite the envy 
and ill-will of that suspicious accuser of his brethren. Satan inti- 
mates that selfishness is the sole motive of Job's obedience ; that 
it was with views of profit, and not from sentiments of reverence 
toward God, that he paid him an outward service ; that, if Jehovah 
should take away the possessions of him whom he believed so 
faithful, he would at once renounce his service. *' Doth Job fear 
God for nought .^^" To establish the truth of what he had said in 
commendation of his servant, Jehovah is represented as giving 
permission to Satan to put the piety of Job to the test, by taking 
away at once all his possessions and all his children. But the 
evil spirit gains no triumph. Job remains true to his allegiance. 
He sins not even with his lips. There is yet another assembly 
of the heavenly spirits ; and here the hateful spirit, the disbe- 
liever in human virtue, persists in maintaining that it is the love of 
life, the dearest of all possessions to man, which retains Job in 
his allegiance. Satan therefore is represented as having per- 
mission to take from Job all that can be called life, except the 
mere consciousness of existence and the ability to express his 
sentiments in the condition to which he is reduced, by the inflic- 
tion of a most loathsome diseasp And yet the good man, in this 



12 INTRODUCTION TO 

lowest point of depression, is represented as remaining patient so 
long, that when his wife, whom Satan appears to have spared to 
him for no good purpose, tempts him to renounce his allegiance 
to God, he calmly answers, '* Shall we receive good at the hand 
of God, and shall we not receive evil ? " Thus far he did not sin 
with his lips. 

But when the fame of Job's sufferings had spread abroad, and 
had drawn around him a company of his friends, who had left 
their distant homes to sympathize with him in his calamities, he is 
represented as giving vehement utterance to his long-repressed 
impatience, and pouring out his complaints and doubts in rash 
language, with which the reader would hardly be able to sympa- 
thize, were it not for the account which has been given of the 
cause of his afflictions in the introductory chapters. 

But the friends of Job, who of course are not acquainted with 
the cause of his sufferings in the occurrences of the heavenly as- 
sembly, are thrown into amazement at the condition in which they 
find their friend, and the expressions uttered by him whom they 
had heretofore looked upon as a wise and good man. They are 
silent while they witness only his dreadful sufferings ; but, when 
they hear the vehement and rash complaints which are extorted 
from him by the severity of his distress, they refrain no longer 
from expressing their sentiments respecting the cause of his calami- 
ties. They ascribe them to his sins. Thus commences a discussion 
respecting the causes of human sufferings between Job and his 
friends. They are represented as holding the doctrine of a strict 
and perfect retribution in the present life ; as maintaining that 
misery always implies guilt ; and hence, instead of bringing him 
comfort and consolation, they accuse him of having merited his 
misfortunes by secret wickedness. They exhort him to repent- 
ance, as if he were a great sinner suffering the just punishment 
of his crimes. 

Job repels their insinuations with indignation, and firmly main- 
tains his innocence. He knows not why he suffers. He com- 
plains of severe treatment, and asserts that God afflicts equally 
the righteous and the wicked. His friends are offended with the 
sentiments to which he gives utterance, and undertake to vindicate 
the conduct of the Deity towards him. They repeat with greatei 



THE BOOK OP JOB. 13 

asperity their charges of wickedness and impiety, and even go so 
far as to accuse him of particular crimes. But the more they press 
their accusations, the more confident is he in his assertions of his 
innocence, or of the justice of his cause. He avows his conviction 
that God will one day manifest himself as the vindicator of his 
character. He appeals to him as the witness of his sincerity; 
denies the constancy, and even the frequency, of his judgments 
upon wicked men ; and boldly asks for an opportunity of pleading 
his cause with his Creator, confident that he should be acquitted 
before any righteous tribunal. His friends are reduced to siknce ; 
Bildad closing their remarks by a few general maxims respecting 
the greatness of God and the frailty of man, and Zophar not un- 
dertaking to say any thing. 

The spirit of Job is somewhat softened by their silence ; and he 
retracts some of the sentiments, which, in the anguish of his spirit, 
and the heat of controversy, he had inconsiderately uttered. 
** He proceeds with calm confidence like a lion among his defeated 
enemies." He shows that he was able to speak of the perfections 
of God, and to express all that was true in the positions of his 
opponents, in a better style than any of them. He now admits, 
what before he seemed to deny, that wicked men are often visited 
by severe punishment. But from his main position he does not 
retreat, that misery is not always the consequence of wickedness, 
and that God has a hidden wisdom in regard to the distribution of 
happiness and misery, which it is impossible for man to fathom. 
He then proceeds with a melting pathos to describe his present 
in contrast with his former condition, and to give a most beauti- 
ful picture of his character and life, very pardonable in one of 
whom the reader knows what has in the prologue been said by the 
Governor of the world before the angels of heaven. From this 
retrospect of his past life, he is led to renewed protestations of 
his innocence, and of his desire to have his cause tried before the 
tribunal of his Creator. 

In this stage of the discussion, a new disputant is brought for- 
ward, probably for the purpose of expressing some thoughts of the 
author on the design of afflictions, and for the purpose of forming 
a contrast in respect to style and manner with the manifestation of 
the Deity which follows. Elihu is represented as a young man 



14 INTRODUCTION TO 

coming forward with an air of great confidence, though in words 
he ascribes the burden with which his breast was laboring to the 
inspiration of God. He does, indeed, bring forward some thoughts 
on the moral influence of afflictions which had not been uttered by 
the friends of Job ; maintaining that, though they may not be the 
punishment of past oflPences, nor evidence of guilt, they may oper- 
ate as preventives of those sins which the best of men sometimes 
commit, and as a salutary discipline for the correction of those 
faults of which a man may be unconscious until his attention is 
awakened by adversity. Thus he offers a more rational conjec- 
ture than the three friends of Job, in regard to the cause of his 
afl^lictions ; and, in fact, gives nearly the same account of it which 
is regarded as true by the writer, and is implied in the prologue 
and epilogue of the poem. Affliction, according to EHhu, is 
designed for the moral benefit of the sufferer. His view of the 
design of human sufferings is, therefore, nearer the Christian doc- 
trine than that of any speaker in the book. Of course, like all 
others, he fails of completely solving all the difficulties, which, 
even under the light of the Christian dispensation, are connected 
with the subject of the amount of evil which exists in the world, 
and the distribution of good and evil in it, under the govern- 
ment of God. Thus an appropriate place remains for the 
sublime speech of the Deity relating to the unsearchableness of 
his counsels and his ways. 

Human wisdom, the learned wisdom of age, and the unbiassed 
genius of youth, having now been exhausted upon the subject, 
at length the Supreme Being himself is represented as speak- 
ing from the midst ])f a tempest, and putting an end to the con- 
troversy ; the dignity of his introduction being rendered more 
impressive by the self-confident egotism with which Elihu had com- 
menced his part in the contest. 

The Creator decides the controversy, to a certain extent, in 
favor of Job. Jehovah does not, however, condescend to explain 
to him the ways of his providence, or to reveal to him the reasons 
which influence his conduct; but, in a series of forcible ques- 
tions relating to the Divine operations in the realms of nature, 
he convinces him of his inability to fathom the Divine counsels, 
demonstrates the necessity of faith in a wisdom which he cannot 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 15 

comprehend, produces in him a sense of his weakness and igno- 
rance, and leads him to profound repentance on account of the 
rashness of his language ; and thus prepares the way for the final 
vindication of his faithful servant. In a strain of sublime irony, 
he requests him, who had spoken with such confidence and bold- 
ness of the ways of God, to give an explanation of some of the. 
phenomena which were constantly presented to his view, — of the 
nature and structure of the earth, the sea, the light, and the ani- 
mal kingdom. If he be unable to explain any of the common 
phenomena of nature, how can he expect to comprehend the 
secret counsels and moral government of the invisible Author 
of nature ? 

But, having shown the reasonableness of entire confidence in his 
unsearchable wisdom, and of submission to his darkest dispensa- 
tions, the Supreme Judge does, in the main, decide the contro- 
versy in favor of Job. He declares that he had spoken that which 
was right ; that is, in maintaining that his misery was not the con- 
sequence of his guilt, or that character is not to be inferred from 
external condition ; and that the friends of Job had not spoken 
that which was right in condemning him as a wicked man on ac- 
count of his misery, or in maintaining that suffering always implies 
guilt. (Chap. xlii. 7, 8.) The cause of Job's afflictions, which was 
unknown to the disputants, has already been communicated to the 
reader in the introductory chapters ; namely, that they were ap- 
pointed as a temporary trial of his virtue, in order to vindicate 
the judgment of Jehovah concerning him, and to prove against 
all gainsayers the disinterestedness of his piety. Finally, Jehovah 
is represented as bestowing upon Job double the prosperity which 
distinguished him before his affliction, and thus as compensating 
him for the calamities he had suffered ; thereby showing, for the 
consolation of all who endure affliction, that the end of the good 
man will prove that he was also wise. 

If the general design of this wonderful production be such as 
I have described, the question whether Job was a real or a ficti- 
tious character becomes almost too unimportant to be discussed. 
Truth was illustrated and duty enforced by parable as well as by 
historv, in the teaching of him who spake as never man spake. 



16 INTRODUCTION TO 

Certainly some of the circumstances of the life of Job have the 
air of fiction, and may have been invented for the promotion of 
the moral and religious design which we suppose the author to 
have had chiefly in view. 

That the sentiments of Job and of the different disputants, as 
well as those which are represented as proceeding from the lips 
of the Creator, must all be regarded as the effusions of the poet's 
own mind, is also too plain to need argument. The whole struc- 
ture and arrangement, thoughts and language, form and sub- 
stance of the work, must all have proceeded from one and the 
same mind. 

The supposition, that so beautiful and harmonious a whole, 
every part of which bears the stamp of the highest genius, was 
the casual production of a man brought to the gates of the grave 
by a loathsome disease, and of three or four friends who had 
come to comfort him in his affliction, all of them expressing their 
thoughts in the language of rhythm and poetry ; that the Deity 
was actually heard to speak half an hour from the midst of a 
violent storm ; and that the consultations in the heavenly world 
were actual occurrences, — is too extravagant to need refutation. 

On the other hand, it is against probability and against analogy 
to suppose that no such person as Job ever existed, and that the 
work has no foundation in fact. The etymological signification 
of his name, persecuted, has a very slight bearing on the subject. 
The epic and dramatic poets, ancient and modern, have usually 
chosen historical rather than fictitious personages as their princi- 
pal characters, as being better adapted to secure the popular 
sympathy. It is probable that tradition had handed down the 
name of such a person as Job, distinguished for his piety and its 
trials, his virtue and its reward. This tradition the poet used 
and embellished in a manner adapted to promote the chief object 
of his work. 

A more important question, at the present day, relates to the 
integrity of the work ; whether we have it as it came from the 
author, or whether various additions have been made to it in 
later times. 

The genuineness of the introductory and concluding clmptera 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 17 

in prose, of chap, xxvii. 7-xxviii., and of the speech of Elihu, has 
been denied with great confidence by several German scholars, 
upon what I cannot but regard as very insufficient grounds. Well 
knowing the array of learned critics from whom I differ on this 
question, I have some distrust in my own judgment. But I will 
endeavor to examine with fairness the arguments which have been 
adduced against the genuineness of the above-mentioned parts of 
Job. 

Against the prologue and epilogue it is urged, **that the per- 
fection of the work requires their rejection, because they solve 
the problem which is the subject of the work by the idea of trial 
and compensation ; whereas it was the design of the author to 
solve the question through the idea of entire submission on the 
part of man to the wisdom and power of God." Thus, from a 
part of the work it is concluded what was the whole design of 
the author, and then whatever is inconsistent with this supposed 
design is rejected. But there is no necessity for the supposition 
of such an entire unity of purpose as this objection supposes. 
Much more probable is it, that the author designed not only to 
establish the necessity of unhesitating faith and unwavering sub- 
mission, but also to throw all the light in his power upon the 
subject, considered as a problem for intellectual inquiry. If he 
has not completely solved the question which forms the principal 
subject of discussion, it does not follow that he did not undertake 
to do it ; or, at least, to remove from it all the difficulties which 
he could remove. If it were even admitted, which I do not 
assert, that there is not a perfect consistency and unity in the 
views of a poet writing upon a very deep subject, he would not 
be the only one who has written inconsistently on the origin and 
design of evil. What author has written with perfect consistency 
on the principles of the government of the Infinite One ? Would 
it be reasonable to reject as ungenuine all those parts of Soame 
Jenyns's work on the origin of evil which Dr. Johnson points out 
as inconsistent with its main design, or with other parts of the 
composition ? It seems, indeed, singular, that a writer who has 
made such pathetic complaints of human suffering without appar- 
ent cause should recur so easily to the doctrine of compensation, 
which is contained in chap. xlii. But to deny, on this account, that 



18 INTRODUCTION TO 

he wrote the latter, is arbitrary and absurd. Perhaps, in the ono 
case, the writer expressed what he felt to be true ; in the other, 
what he wished to be true, or what was in conformity with the 
prevalent Jewish belief respecting Divine retribution. We have 
a similar phenomenon in the Book of Ecclesiastes. But no one 
has thought of rejecting large portions of this book. 

Far more reasonable is it to gather the author's design from a 
view of the whole work ; especially as there is no inconsistency 
in the supposition that he endeavored to clear up the difficulties 
which the subject presents to the human understanding, as well 
as to illustrate the necessity of the entire submission of the heart 
to God's will. 

Besides, the prologue is important, not only as containing, in 
pait, the writer's solution of the subject, but also as a preparation 
for the reader in estimating the character and language of Job. 
We could hardly sympathize with the imprecations with which he 
commences, or with his irreverent language toward the Deity, or 
even with his bold assertions of his own innocence, unless we 
were assured upon higher authority than his own, that he was, 
what he professed to be, an upright and good man. The whole 
takes a far deeper hold upon our sympathy, when we know that 
he who is in a state of such extreme depression, suffering re- 
proach and condemnation from fallible men, has a witness in 
heaven and a record on high, having received the praise of an 
upright and good man from the Searcher of hearts before the 
angels in heaven. 

The objection to the genuineness of chap, xxvii. and xxviii. is, 
that an apparent inconsistency exists between the language here 
assigned to Job, and what he has uttered in chap. xxi. This 
inconsistency is obvious, and was long ago observed by Kenni- 
cott. See his note on chap, xxvii. 7. And, if the object of the 
poet was to represent merely a persevering, unbending character 
like the Prometheus of iEschylus, there might be some force in 
the objection. But, if the design of the work be, as we have 
represented it, to throw all possible light upon a moral subject, it 
is well that Job should be represented as retracting what he had 
uttered in the heat of passion, and admitting all that he could 
admit with truth, and consistently with his main position, that h* 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 19 

was innocent, or that misery is not always a proof of guilt. The 
great object of the poem is in fact advanced by such a course, and 
by Job's anticipating in some measure, in chap, xxviii., the argu- 
ments of the Supreme Judge. All that Job admits is not really 
inconsistent with what he says in chap, xxix., xxx., xxxi., and 
does not bring the subject to a crisis too soon. 

In regard to the speech of Elihu, it is objected, that it differs 
in style from that of the other speakers ; that it is weak, prolix, 
studied, obscure ; that it is distinguished from the genuine parts 
of the book by the use of favorite expressions, and by reminis- 
cences from the thoughts of some of the other speakers. That 
there is some difference between the language of Elihu and that 
of the other speakers is conceded, especially when he is repre- 
sented as speaking of himself. But, when he has entered upon 
the subject, his thoughts are as weighty and as well expressed 
as those of the other speakers. The superiority of other parts 
of the book to the speech of Elihu appears to me to be stated 
by Davidson in very extravagant terms. I should be glad to be 
informed why chap, xxxiv. 16-30, xxxvi. 5-33, and xxxvii. 1-24, 
are not equal in poetic beauty and sublimity to many other parts 
of the work. But the true answer is, that this difference was 
designed; that a different style was assigned to EHhu by the 
author. There is some difference of manner in the speeches of 
the other adversaries of Job. It is more marked in the speech 
of Elihu, because he was a young man. Youthful forwardness 
was more inconsistent with Eastern feelings and manners than with 
ours. (See chap. xxix. 8.) And it is not strange that the poet 
should represent a young man appearing upon such an occasion 
as giving indications of youthful confidence in matters of theology. 
The author, however, soon forgets the character in which he is 
representing Elihu, and speaks in his own vein. It is evident 
that he had very little power to delineate character, or to go out 
of himself into the person of another. 

It is rather evidence of skill in the poet, that he renders the 
sublime manifestation and the impressive language of the Deitj 
more striking by contrasting with them the egotistic flourish and 
self-confidence with which young Elihu commences his discourse, 
and which he occasionally manifests in other parts of it. In 



20 INTRODUCTION TO 

regard to favorite expressions, and the reminiscences of the Ian* 
guage of the other speakers, I think they are circumstances of 
very little importance. They may, at any rate, be the result 
of design, as part of the manner of Elihu ; or they may be the 
result of inadvertence. 

It is objected, secondly, that the speech of Elihu weakens the 
speeches of Job and of the Deity, in chap, xxix., xxx., xxxi., 
xxxviii., &c. ; obscures the relation in which these stand to each 
other ; and, in part, anticipates the thoughts which that of the 
Deity contains. We have already made some reply to this by 
the observation, that the majesty of the Divine appearance is 
heightened by contrast with the language of Elihu. It may be 
observed, too, that all the speakers have more or less anticipated 
the argument of the Deity, and could not well say any thing of the 
Creator or his works without doing it. But, as a whole, the speech 
of the Deity is remarkably distinguished from those of the other 
speakers. As to the interruption of the connection between the 
speech of Job and that of the Deity, it is not a very important 
circumstance. Let it be conceded, for the sake of argument, that 
the omission of the speech of Elihu would contribute to the per- 
fection of the work, or that it is in itself somewhat inferior to 
other parts of it. What then ? Why is it assumed that this poem 
must be a perfect production ? Do not modern critics and re- 
viewers imagine, that they can improve many of the productions 
of genius by the addition of a part here, or the subtraction of 
a part there ? Some portions of * ' Paradise Lost " are inferior in 
strength and majesty to others, and the inferiority of ** Paradise 
Regained " is generally recognized. But no one thinks of doubt- 
ing their genuineness on this account. Besides, the author does 
give in Elihu's discourse one view of the cause of human suffer- 
ing which is not distinctly stated elsewhere. (See chap, xxxiii. 
14-28.) He might be expected to give it. For the doctrine of 
the beneficent design of affliction is found in parts of the Old 
Testament older than the Book of Job. 

It is objected, in the next place, that Elihu perverts the lan- 
guage of Job ; a thing which would have been done only by a 
person who was not the author of the work. To this it may be 
replied, that though the particular passages, which Elihu pre- 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 21 

tends to ({uote, are somewhat misstated, yet he hardly ascribes to 
Job more objectionable sentiments than he had elsewhere ex- 
pressed, as in chap. xxi. Besides, it is not unnatural in a disputant, 
especially a young one, to misapprehend a question, or to mis- 
state the language of an opponent. 

It is said, again, that Elihu receives no answer. I apprehend 
that it was agreeable to Eastern feelings that such a forward 
young man should receive no answer. At any rate, this objection 
has little weight. For answers must come to an end at some 
time or other. It is said also, that Job is mentioned by name 
in the speech of Elihu, and not elsewhere. But surely so un- 
important a circumstance, occurring in a speech where difference 
of manner was to be expected, affords very slight ground for 
suspecting its genuineness. 

Again, it is said, Elihu is not mentioned in the prologue and 
epilogue. It is sufficient answer to this to say, that the author 
thought it proper to have but three speakers in the principal part 
of the debate, and to give a special introduction to Elihu in chap, 
xxxii. His judgment on this point may not have been as good as 
that of his modern critics ; but I see not why we should alter the 
plan of his book on this account. As to the fact that Elihu is not 
mentioned in the epilogue, it may have been for the reason above 
assigned for his receiving no reply from Job ; or because nothing 
occurred to the author which was particularly appropriate to be 
said to him. 

Lastly, it is asserted by Davidson, exaggerating what has been 
adduced by Heiligstedt, that ** expressions, word-forms, modes 
of speech occur, for which others are as uniformly found in the 
older work." If this broad statement were well supported, it 
would undoubtedly form a strong argument against the genuine- 
ness of Elihu''s speech. But the instances which he cites are 
very far from sustaining it. In the first place, the whole book 
contains peculiar forms inclining to the Aramaean, as has been 
remarked by Gesenius,* De Wette,t and others, so that they 
have referred the whole book to the Chaldee period. { In its 

* Gesch. d. Heb. Spr., § 33. f Einleit., § 291. 

t See Int., p. 26. 



22 INTRODUCTION TO ^ 

Aramasan character, generally, the speech of Elihu agrees with 
the whole book. Secondly, the particular instances adduced by 
Davidson are of very little weight. Thus ^s, knowledge, instead 
of ri^^'H. But Elihu uses the latter word in chap, xxxiii. 3, and 
xxxiv. 35. So that the same argument will prove the speech of 
Elihu itsell to have had two authors. It is not improbable that 
'^5?"^, my knowledge, was used for "^f^??, for the sake of euphony. 

Another instance is "l^'^, used in the singular to denote youth. 
But the word is not used in the plural in any part of the book. 
Of course it proves nothing. It is also found in the singular in 
Ps. bcxxviii. 15. 

Another instance is ^5?» ^^^^» ^^ chap, xxxii. 8. But the word 
is used in this sense in Ps. xxxi. 23, Ixxxii. 7, and Isa. xlix. 4. 
How this instance proves any thing, I am unable to see. 

Another instance is b^.>\ said to be used for H^l?, iu chap. 
xxxiv. 10. But the same form is found in Ps. vii. 4, liii. 2, and 
Ezek. iii. 20. So one form of the root denoting iniquity is used 
in Job V. 1, 6 ; and another, in xi. 29. Thus there is no reason 
whatever why Elihu should not have used ^1^, or Jl^l?, at pleas- 
ure. 

Another instance is the use of the singular n^H, to denote life^ 
in chap, xxxiii., instead of the plural ta'^'^n, which occurs two or 
three times in other parts of the book. It occurs, however, in 
Ezek. vii. 13. As this is a familiar word, it must be admitted 
that its constant use in the singular in the speech of Elihu is 
something which could hardly be expected from the writer of the 
other parts of the book. But stranger things than this are found 
in writings all the parts of which are of undisputed genuineness. 
I can by no means allow to this instance a conclusive force. 

I have examined all the instances brought forward by David- 
son, and cannot find any of them to be more conclusive against 
the genuineness of Elihu's speech than the preceding. It seems to 
me that they are of no great significance. Generally speaking, 
an argument of this kind should be founded on very familiar 
phrases, which a writer has frequent occasion to use, and which 
he uses from habit. An author may use one word here, and 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 23 

another there, to express the same meaning, either for the sake 
of variety or of euphony, or without any particular motive. 

On the whole, if it were even admitted, what I have no inclina- 
tion to deny, that the style of Elihu is so diverse from that of the 
rest of the poem as to be somewhat remarkable, or not wholly 
explained by what has been said, yet, when we consider the strong 
presumption that such a work as the Book of Job would not be 
tampered with by his countrymen, and especially by a poet of no 
mean pretensions, I cannot help doubting whether there is suffi- 
cient reason for rejecting the passages under consideration. I 
can well conceive of additions being made to annals or history. 
It is also true that some whole compositions, or independent por- 
tions, of the Old Testament are ascribed to those who did not 
write them. This was the case with many of the Psalms, Ecclesi- 
astes, the Book of Daniel, and with several prophecies in the 
Book of Isaiah. But this is a very different thing from introduc- 
ing so large an addition into the midst of one poetical composition. 
It is easy to conceive that compositions should be ascribed to 
Homer, Virgil, Milton, Shakspeare, which they did not write. 
But that one should undertake to make an interpolation of many 
pages into the very midst of one of the best poems of either 
of these writers, is much more improbable, both on account of 
want of sufficient motive, the difficulty of executing the design, 
and the obstacles in the way of the reception by his contemporaries 
of such an interpolation. It appears to me that a Jew, and espe- 
cially a Jewish poet, must have had too great a reverence for this 
noble production to undertake to improve it by such an addition, 
and that the early readers of the work would not have given it 
a universal reception. While, therefore, I readily concede some 
degree of inferiority, in parts of Elihu's speech, to other portions 
of the book, in respect to poetic merit, I think it is not of so 
very extraordinary and marked a nature, so different from what 
occurs in the works of other poets, as to be unaccountable except 
on the supposition of the spuriousness of the speech. I well 
know what a weight of modern critical authority is against me 
on this point. This consideration, I am free to acknowledge, 
weakens, in what is partly a matter of taste, my confidence in 
my own view of the subject, but does not destroy it. At any 



24 INTRODUCTION TO 

rate, as the current of modern criticism is against tlie opinion 
here expressed, I shall not regret, in a matter of very little 
moment, to have stated the reasons for holding fast the integrity 
of the book, even if they should be deemed unsatisfactory. 

As to the country of Job, or, in other words, the scene of the 
poem, there has been a diversity of opinion amongst distinguished 
scholars. I was formerly inclined to adopt the opinion of those 
who supposed it to be Idumaea. I now think, that Lam. iv. 21, 
which at first view seems to favor this supposition, in fact indi- 
cates that the land of Uz was not a part of Idumaea, and that the 
prophet speaks of the Edomites as having gained possession of a 
country which did not belong to them. It appears to me, too, 
that Jer. xxv. 20, is also decisive of the question ; else why does 
the prophet speak of the kings of the land of Uz and of Edom, in 
the next verse, as separate nations, to whom he was to extend the 
cup of indignation.^ 

I now think it more probable, that the land of Uz was in the 
north-eastern part of Arabia Deserta, between Palestine, Idumaea, 
and the Euphrates. Ptolemy speaks of a tribe in this region, 
called 'AiacuTaL, which may perhaps have been written ^Avalrac (see 
Ros. Com. in Job, p. 30) ; and the Septuagint renders Uz, ^Avalnc, 
This country would then be near the Chaldaeans and Sabaeans, by 
whose incursions the property of Job is said to have been lost. 
It is more properly entitled to the appellation of the East than 
Idumaea, which was nearly south of Palestine. The beautiful 
valley of Damascus, which Jahn supposes to have been the country 
of Job, could hardly have been so extensive as to account for the 
expression, ** all the kings of the land of Uz," in Jer. xxv. 20. 

A more interesting question remains to be spoken of; namely, 
in what country and in what age did the author live ? 

I shall not enter into a discussion of the various conjectures 
which have been offered in regard to the author of the book. 
Why should we seek to form an opinion, where there are abso- 
lutely no data on which to ground it ? To me it seems highly 
probable, that the author of this incomparable production was one 
of whom we have no records and no other remains. The opinions 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 25 

of those who have undertaken to name the author are widely 
diverse. Lowth attributes it to Job himself; Lightfoot and 
others attribute it to Elihu ; some of the Rabbinical writers, as 
also Kennicott, Michaelis, Dathe, and Good, to Moses ; Luther, 
Grotius, and Doderlein, to Solomon ; while Warburton ascribes 
it to Ezra. 

Respecting the age in which the author lived, it might seem, 
at first view, that some judgment could be formed on internal 
grounds. But, in consequence of our imperfect acquaintance with 
the state of civilization, knowledge, opinions, and manners in 
ancient times, it is difficult to form a satisfactory opinion on the 
subject. 

Some eminent scholars, as Lowth, Eichhorn, and Ilgen, have 
supposed that the author lived before the settlement of the Israel- 
ites in the land of Canaan. The principal argument in favor of 
this opinion is the absence of allusions to the institutions, rites, 
and ceremonies introduced by Moses, and to remarkable events in 
the history of the Jewish nation. This argument would be more 
satisfactory, if the characters, as well as the author, of the work, 
had been Hebrews. But as they were Arabians, who had nothing 
to do with the institutions of Moses, it is plain that a writer of 
genius would not have been guilty of the absurdity of putting the 
sentiments of a Jew into the mouth of an Arabian, at least so far 
as relates to such tangible matters as institutions, positive laws, 
ceremonies, and history. To me it seems that the author has 
manifested abundant evidence of genius and skill in the structure 
and execution of the work, to account for his not having given to 
Arabians the obvious peculiarities of Hebrews who lived under 
the institutions of Moses, at whatever period it may have been 
written. Even if the characters of the book had been Hebrews, 
the argument under consideration would not have been perfectly 
conclusive ; for, from the nature of the subject, we might have 
expected as little in it that was Levitical or grossly Jewish as in the 
Book of Proverbs or of Ecclesiastes, or in several of the Proph- 
ets. A poet may nominally belong to a church of forms and cere- 
monies, and yet give very little evidence of it in his compositions. 
The argument for the Antemosaic origin of the book seems, there- 

2 



26 INTRODUCTION TO 

fore, wholly destitute of weight. On the contrary, we find a very 
strong argument against that opinion in the abstruse nature of its 
subject, and its speculative and philosophical spirit, which seem 
to imply a stage of civilization and a state of society different 
from what we suppose to have existed among the wandering 
eTews to whom Moses gave the law upon Sinai. It is to be kept 
in mind that the poet wrote for his contemporaries, and that 
the spirit of the reader as well as of the writer must be reflected 
from the work. It was agreeable to the spirit of Moses to say, 
Thus saith Jehovah, Ye shall do this, and, Ye shall not do that ; 
and to accompany these commands and prohibitions with the most 
terrible sanctions, rather than to indulge in such bold speculations 
as are contained in this book.* A very different kind of poetry, 
if any could have existed at that time, seems also to be proper to 
the circumstances of the Jews in and before the age of Moses. 
There is more uncertainty in regard to particular religious con- 
ceptions. Those respecting angels, contained in the following 
verses, are supposed by De Wette to be inconsistent with those 
of the Mosaic age : iv. 18 ; v. 1 ; xv. 15 ; xxi. 22 ; xxxiii. 23, &c. ; 
xxxviii. 7, comp. i. 7, ii. 2, &c. But it may be doubted whether 
this argument is valid. The manners and condition of society 
referred to or implied in some, at least, of the following passages, 
adduced by De Wette, seem to point to a much later period of 
Jewish history than the Antemosaic or the Mosaic age. It strikes 
me as rather inconsistent with the simplicity of the patriarchal age, 
that Job should be represented as the ruler or judge of a city, 
chap. xxix. 7, 8, 9 ; that there should be an allusion to the wriU 
ten sentence of a judge, chap. xiii. 26 ; to the signing of a bill of 
defence or complaint, to be brought into court, chap. xxxi. 35 ; 
to the recording of facts in a register or book-roll, or upon tab- 
lets of stone, chap. xix. 23, 24 ; to the custom of holding courts 
in the gates of walled cities, chap. v. 4, xxix. 7 ; to desolate 
cities, chap. xv. 28 ; to cities, chap. xxiv. 12, xxxix. 7 ; to vari- 
ous kinds of armor, chap. xx. 24, 25, and to the war-horse, chap, 
xxxix. 21-25; to splendid palaces or tombs, chap. iii. 14; to the 
deposition of kings, chap. xii. 18 ; to the laying-up of wealth in 

* See Exod. xx. 5. 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 27 

the form of money, chap. xx. 15, xxli. 24, xxiii. 10, xxvil. 16, 
xxxi, 24 ; and to mining operations, in chap, xxviii. These allu- 
sions may not be perfectly conclusive. Modern discoveries re- 
specting the ancient Egyptian civilization lessen in some degree 
their conclusiveness ; but they certainly do not well harmonize 
with our notions of the life and manners of the Hebrew patriarchs 
before the time of Moses. They suggest to us a later age. 

In regard to the age of Solomon, or the period which inter- 
venes between Solomon and the captivity at Babylon, which is 
assigned to it by some writers, there is no very decisive objection. 
Even if the work is supposed to have a national object, or 
to have been designed for the encouragement and consolation 
of the Jewish people as a nation, while in a state of calamity, 
there are several periods before the captivity when such a work 
would have been appropriate ; for instance, the period of Habak- 
kuk, whose expostulation with the Deity, and what follows in his 
prophecy, have a resemblance to the subject and sentiments 
of the Book of Job. There is no necessity, however, for suppos- 
ing the work to have a national object. If this had been the 
• case, I think it would have been made more distinctly to appear 
by the author. The subject is one which the vicissitudes of 
individual experience render as interesting and pertinent in the 
highest period of national prosperity as at the lowest point of 
national depression. 

There is one consideration, however, which has inclined the 
best Hebrew scholars, of late, to assign the period of the cap- 
tivity at Babylon as the age of the author of Job ; namely, the 
Chaldalzing character of the language ; for instance, HDy? to 
answer ^ applied to one who begins a discourse. The plural form 
of n^?3, p^?p ; ta'^tp^jP, the holy ones, applied to angels ; "inJT, xvi. 
19 ; C|j55, xiv. 20, xv. 24 ; ^tr\, xxi. 21, xxli. 3 ; Mj^, vii. 3 ; n?:, 
not, xvi. 6 (comp. xxxi. 1); "^^Dp for "^Stp, xvlii. 2 ; ^^n for '^H, xli. 
4 ; td as a prefix, xix. 29, &c. ; ^??^, to command. From these and 
other instances, Gesenlus, De Wette, and Umbreit have referred 
the Book of Job to the time of the captivity ; a period assigned to 
it by Le Clerc, Warburton, Heath, Garnet, and Rabbi Jochanau 



28 INTRODUCTION TO 

among the older critics. But from the few remains of Hebrew 
literature which have come down to us, and our imperfect acquaint- 
ance with the history of the language, it follows, that it is by no 
means certain that the words and forms above mentioned may not 
have been in use in some parts of Judea before the time of the 
captivity, iri as a prefix occurs in the Book of Judges. (See 
vi. 17.) 

The introduction of Satan, in the historical introduction in 
prose, is certainly a strong argument against the high antiquity of 
the work. For there is no mention of such a being, by the name 
of Satan, in any of the Hebrew writings composed before the 
exile in Babylon ; and there is some reason, though not absolutely 
conclusive, for believing that it was from the Chaldaeans that the 
Jews derived the conception of such a being. This argument, if 
founded on correct premises, seems to be conclusive against the 
high antiquity of the work. For it Is hardly credible that the 
Hebrews should have had the conception of an evil spirit before 
the time of Moses, and that it should not once occur in the writings 
which preceded the exile. But It may be doubted whether this 
argument be conclusive against the supposition that the Book of 
Job was written a short time before the exile. As to the opinion 
of Schultens, Herder, Dathe, Elchhorn, and others, that the 
Satan of the Book of Job was a good angel, it is now universally 
rejected as untenable. 

The question may be asked, whether the perfection of the work 
is not inconsistent with the state of Hebrew literature during the 
captivity. Notwithstanding the strong language of Bishop Lowth 
on this point, I think it may justly be inferred from the psalms 
composed during this period, and from the ungenuine Isaiah, that 
this question should be answered in the negative. (See Ps. 
cxxxvii. ; also Isa. xl.-lxvl.) 

On the whole, It appears to me that there are no data upon 
which one can form a very confident opinion in regard to the pre- 
cise age of the Book of Job. The latest period assigned for it 
appears to me far more probable than the earliest, and indeed the 
most probable ; but that it may not have been written some time 
between the age of Solomon and the captivity is more than any 
cne, who has surveyed the subject carefully, will with confidence 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 29 

assert. If a time of national distress is deemed probable, why 
should not the period of the Assyrian invasion, or that which 
followed it, have given birth to the work ? 

One more point remains to be considered ; namely, the country 
of the author of the Book of Job. For it has been maintained 
that he was not a Hebrew, but an Arabian ; and that the work is a 
translation from the Arabic. 

In opposition to this opinion, it is to be observed in the first 
place, that there is no external evidence in favor of it. The work 
is now found in Hebrew alone, in the collection of what remains 
of ancient Hebrew literature ; a collection which has been held 
sacred by the Jews as far back as we can trace their sentiments 
respecting it. Nor is there any history or tradition which inti- 
mates that the work ever existed in a different language. 

It is found, too, in the sacred literature of a people peculiarly 
proud of their religious prerogatives, and regarding with cold- 
ness or jealousy, and often with aversion or hatred, all other 
nations. It is extremely improbable that any Jew would have 
had the inclination to transfer the production of a heathen into 
the Jewish literature, or that he would have been permitted to 
do it. 

In the next place, the work is not only in the Hebrew language, 
but in the best style of Hebrew composition. The parallelism is 
uniform and well sustained ; the sentences are pointed ; the style 
is fresh and vigorous, and bears not, in its general characteristics, 
the slightest mark of a translation. 

In opposition, then, to the external evidence, and to the gen- 
eral style of the composition, what are the reasons which have 
induced some distinguished men in modern times to regard the 
work as the production of an Arabian, and as translated from the 
Arabic ? 

They are, in the first place, the words, occurring in it more 
fi'equently than in other books of the Old Testament, which are 
regarded as Arabic in a Hebrew dress, or which may be illustrated 
from the Arabic. But these words are very few in relation to the 
whole work, and are not the less Hebrew because they may be 
illustrated from the Arabic. With the exception of the few fore is 



80 INTRODUCTION TO 

which resemble the Aramaean, the Book of Job is in as pure 
Hebrew as any other part of the Scriptures. It appears to me 
that the remark of Jahn is perfectly just and satisfactory in regard 
to this topic : * ' It is not at all surprising, that in a lofty poem we 
find many of the less common words and ideas, which the He- 
brew, through the poverty of its literature, has lost ; while they 
have been preserved by the Arabic, the richest of the sister dia- 
lects."* 

It has been said, that, if the author had been a Hebrew, more 
of a Levitical or ritual character would have been found in the 
book. This consideration seems to me to have a satisfactory 
answer in what has been said in pp. 23-27 against the high 
antiquity of the poem. 

The other argument, in support of the opinion that an Arabian 
was the author of the poem, is drawn from the various allusions 
to Arabian manners and customs which are scattered through it. 
In regard to this argument, there are two things to be observed. 
First, we have reason to believe that the manners of the Jews, in 
some parts of Palestine, very much resembled those of the Arabs. 
As they sprang from the same stock, why should this not be the 
case, except so far as the Jews were distinguished by their reli- 
gious institutions ? 

We are apt to form our conceptions of the whole Jewish nation 
from what we learn, in the Scriptures, of the inhabitants of cities, 
of Jerusalem in particular. It is to be recollected that the He- 
brews were originally and ** essentially a nomadic people; their 
fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had ever been so ; they were 
emphatically Bedouins, removing with their flocks and herds from 
place to place, as occasion might require. In Egypt they had 
ever been shepherds, — their province of Goshen was adapted to 
pasturage, and not to tillage ; and now, when they had come out 
into the deserts, with their flocks and herds, they were still the 
nomadic race they had ever been, — a people resembling those by 
whom these desert plains and valleys and mountains are pos- 
sessed to this day."" f It is not singular that the manners of 

* Jahn's Introduction, § 196. 

t See Biblical Kepository, No. YIII. p. 787. 



THE BOOK OP JOB. 31 

Bedouins should have been in a measure retained by those 
Hebrews who dwelt out of cities. 

It follows from the preceding consideration, that the author of 
Job, having determined to make his characters Arabians, and to 
lay the scene of his work in Arabia, would find no difficulty in 
suiting the manners and sentiments of his characters, and his 
local allusions, to the scene which he had chosen ; so that his only 
difficulty would be to exclude from his work obvious references to 
the Jewish history and religion. If, in addition to this, we sup- 
pose, what is perfectly reasonable, that the Hebrew philosopher 
had, like Plato, travelled into Egypt and through Arabia for the 
purpose of enriching his mind with all the knowledge of those 
countries, I think w^e shall find no difficulty in the supposition, 
that a Hebrew, of such genius and skill as are manifested in this 
work, might have been the author of it. A recent commentator 
on Job, Hirzel, has conjectured that the author was a Hebrew 
captive, carried into Egypt by Pharaoh Necho. (See 2 Kings 
xxiii. 29, &e.) 

But this is not all. It seems to me, that though Arabian man- 
ners and scenes are the superficial characteristics of the work, 
yet, in its general spirit, and in many less obvious characteristics, 
the author has manifestly shown himself to be a Hebrew poet. 
The very subject of the work is just what might have been ex- 
pected to arrest the attention of a Hebrew philosopher, educated 
in the religion of Moses. It is similar to that of other Hebrew 
compositions, as has been observed before.* In fact, if we regard 
the spirit and scope of the work, the remark of De Wette appears 
not too strong, that it is Hebrew through and through. 

There are also many particular sentiments which we know to 
be appropriate to a Hebrew, possessing an acquaintance with the 
Hebrew literature and religion, and which we do not know to 
have been appropriate to an Arabian. Such are the following, 
which are more or less satisfactory. Chap. ix. 5-9 ; xii. 10; xv. 7 ; 
xxvi. 5, &c. ; xxxviii. 4, &c. ; — iv. 19 ; x. 9 ; xxvii. 3 ; — iv. 17, 
&c. ; viii. 9 ; ix. 2 ; xiii. 26 ; xiv. 4 ; xv. 14 ; xxv. 4, 6 ; — iv. 18 \ 
V. 1 ; xv. 15 ; xxi. 22 ; xxxviii. 7 ; — xxxi. 26, 27 ; — vii. 7, &c. { 

* Page fi 



32 INTRODUCTION TO 

X. 21, &c. ; xiv. 10, &c, ; xvi. 22 ; xxx. 23 ; xxxvlii. 17. Add to 
these the mention of the Jordan as an instance of a great stream 
(chap. xl. 23), and the use of the name of Jehovah in the intro- 
duction and conclusion of the work. The sentiments and some 
of the expressions which are contained in the preceding refer- 
ences are also common in other parts of the Scriptures. Some of 
the sentiments may, it is true, have been held by the Arabians in 
common with the Hebrews ; but we do not know it. The pre- 
sumption, therefore, is, that they proceeded from one who was 
familiar with Hebrew literature ; that is, from a Hebrew. 

The following instance of resemblance to passages in the 
Psalms and Proverbs are also of weight with those who do not 
believe that the work is of very high antiquity, and translated 
and incorporated into the Hebrew literature so early that the 
authors of the Psalms and Proverbs borrowed from it. To me it 
seems more probable, that these common thoughts and peculiar 
expressions indicate only that the books in which they occur 
belong to a common literature, the literature of the same nation. 
Chap. V. 16, xxii. 19, comp. Ps. cvii. 42. Chap. xii. 21, 24, comp. 
Ps. cvii. 40. Chap. xiii. 5, comp. Prov. xvii. 28. Chap. xv. 16, 
xxxiv. 7, comp. Prov. xxvi. 6. Chap. xxii. 29, comp. Prov. xvi. 18, 
xviii. 12, xxix. 23. Chap. xxvi. 5, comp. Prov. ii. 18, xxi. 16. 
Chap. xxvi. 6, comp. Prov. xv. 11. Chap, xxvii. 16, &c., comp. 
Prov. xxviii. 8. Chap, xxviii. 18, comp. Prov. viii. 11. Chap. 
xxviii. 28, comp. Prov. i. 7. rr^Ip^ri, chap. v. 12, vi. 13, xi. 6, xii. 16, 
xxvi. 3, xxx. 22, comp. Prov. ii. 7, iii. 21, viii. 14, xviii. 1. Jl^n* 
chap. vi. 2, xxx. 13, comp. Prov. xix. 13. Tii^lnritn, chap, xxxvii. 
12, comp. Prov. i. 5, xi. 14, and often. 

On the whole, it appears to me that the internal evidence alone 
makes it more probable that the author was a Hebrew than that 
he was a foreigner; and, when we also add the external evi- 
dence in favor of this conclusion, there seems to be very little 
room for doubt. 

It may seem remarkable, that the author of a work, whir;h, for 
reach of thought, richness of imagination, depth and tenderness 
of feeling, and skill in its plan and execution, surpasses any pro- 
duction of Hebrew literature which has come down to us, should 



THE BOOK OF JOB. 33 

yet be unknown. But, when we consider the vicissitudes through 
which the Jewish nation has passed, the wonder is that we retain 
the work itself. 

*'But who," says the eloquent Herder, ** shall answer our 
inquiries respecting him to whose meditations we are indebted for 
this ancient book, this justification of the ways of God to man, 
and sublime exaltation of humanity ; who has exhibited them, 
too, in this silent picture, in the fortunes of an humble sufferer 
clothed in sackcloth and sitting in ashes, but fired with the sub- 
lime inspirations of his own wisdom ? Who shall point us to the 
grave of him whose soul kindled with these divine conceptions, 
to whom was vouchsafed such access to the counsels of God, to 
angels, and the souls of men ; who embraced in a single glance 
the heavens and the earth ; and who could send forth his living 
spirit, his poetic fire, and his human affections, to all that exists, 
from the land of the shadow of death to the starry firmament, and 
beyond the stars ? No cypress, flourishing in unfading green, 
marks the place of his rest. With his unuttered name he has con- 
signed to oblivion all that was earthly, and, leaving his book for 
a memorial below, is engaged in a yet nobler song in that world 
where the voice of sorrow and mourning is unheard, and where 
the morning stars sing together. 

*'0r, if he, the patient sufferer, was here the recorder of his 
own sufferings and of his own triumph, of his own wisdom, first 
victorious in conflict, and then humbled in the dust, how blest 
have been his afflictions, how amply rewarded his pains ! Here, 
in this book, full of imperishable thought, he still lives, gives 
utterance to the sorrows of his heart, and extends his triumph 
over centuries and continents. Not only, according to his wish, 
did he die in his nest, but a phoenix has sprung forth from his 
ashes ; and from his fragrant nest is diffused an incense which 
gives, and will for ever give, reviving energy to the faint, and 
strength to the powerless. He has drawn down the heavens to 
the earth, encamped their hosts invisibly around the bed of lan- 
guishing, and made the afflictions of the sufferer a spectacle to 
angels ; has taught that God, too, looks with a watchful eye upon 
his creatures, and exposes them to the trial of their integrity for 
the maintenance of his own truth, and the promotion of his own 

2* 



34 INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF JOB. 

glory. * Behold ! we count them happy which endure. Ye have 
heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord 
[the happy end which the Lord appointed for him], that the 
Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.''"* 

In regard to the use of this book, it is hardly necessary, aftef 
what has been said of its character and design, to remind the 
reader that the instruction which it contains is to be derived from 
its general spirit and design as a whole, and not from particular 
verses or passages. Job was censured by the Deity for the rash- 
ness of his language ; and his friends were condemned by the same 
unerring Judge, as not having spoken that which was right. If 
we regard independent sentences or speeches, those uttered by 
the friends of Job must be regarded as more consistent with the 
Jewish revelation, and more respectful to God, than much of the 
language of the afflicted sufferer. It was in the absoluteness of 
the application of their general maxims that they were wrong ; in 
endeavoring to prove by them that Job was a bad man because 
he was miserable ; or, in general, that misery is a proof of guilt. 
Perhaps the best lesson to be derived from the book is that which 
is enforced in the speech of the Deity ; namely, humility in view 
of the limited vision of man, and submission to the will of God 
in view of the unsearchableness of his wisdom. 

Cambridge, Oct. 14, 1866. 

* Herder's Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, Marsh's Translation, vol. i. p. 120. 



SYNOPSIS. 



I. Historical Introduction in Prose. Chap. I., 11. 
II. Controversy in Verse. Chap. III.-XLII. 7. 
The speech of Job, in which he curses his birth-day, is suc- 
ceeded by — 

(1) The First Series of Controversy. Chap. IV.-XrV* 

1. Speech of Eliphaz. Chap. IV., V. 

2. Answer of Job. Chap. VI., VII. 

3. Speech of Bildad. Chap. VIII. 

4. Answer of Job. Chap. IX., X. 

5. Speech of Zophar. Chap. XI. 

6. Answer of Job. Chap. XH., XIV. 

(2) Second Series of Controversy. Chap. XV.-XXI. 

1. Speech of Eliphaz. Chap. XV. 

2. Answer of Job. Chap. XVL, XVII. 

3. Speech of Bildad. Chap. XVIII. 

4. Answer of Job. Chap. XIX. 

5. Speech of Zophar. Chap. XX. 

6. Answer of Job. Chap. XXI. 

(3) Third Series of Controversy. Chap. XXII.-XXXI. 

1. Speech of Eliphaz. Chap. XXII. 

2. Answer of Job. Chap. XXIIL, XXIV. 

3. Speech of Bildad. Chap. XXV. 

4. Answer of Job. Chap. XXVI.-XXXI. 

(4) Speech of Elihu. Chap. XXXII.-XXXVII. 

(5) The Speech of the Deity, which terminates the 

Discussion. Chap. XXXVIH.-XLII. 7. 

III. The Conclusion in Prose. Chap. XLII. 7 to the end 

[35] 



JOB. 



I. 

Job's trial. — Chap. I., n. 

1 In the land of Uz lived a man whose name was Job. 
He was an upright and good man, fearing God and depart- 

2 ing from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. 

3 His substance was seven thousand sheep, three thousand 
camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, ^yq hundred she-asses, 
and a great number of servants ; so that he was the greatest 
of all the inhabitants of the East. 

4 Now it was the custom of his sons to make a feast in 
their houses, each on his day, and to send and invite their 

6 three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And when 
the days of their feasting had gone round. Job used to 
send for them and sanctify them, and to rise up early in the 
morning and offer burnt-offerings according to the number 
of them all ; for Job said, It may be that my sons have 
sinned, and have renounced God in their hearts. Thus did 
Job continually. 

6 Now on a certain day the sons of God came to present 
themselves before Jehovah, and Satan also came among 

7 them. And Jehovah said to Satan, Whence comest thou ? 
Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, From wander- 
ing over the earth, and walking up and down in it. And 

8 Jehovah said to Satan, Hast thou observed my servant 
Job, that there is none like him in the earth, an upright 
and good man, fearing God and departing from evil ? 

9 Then Satan answered Jehovah, Is it for nought that Job 
10 feareth God ? Hast thou not placed a hedge around him, 

and around his house, and around all his possessions ? 
Thou hast prospered the work of his hands, and his 

[37] 



88 JOB. [chap. II. 

11 herds are greatly increased in the land But only put 
forth thy hand, and touch whatever he possesseth, and 

12 to thy face will he renounce thee. And Jehovah said to 
Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power ; but upon 
him lay not thy hand. So Satan went forth from the 
presence of Jehovah. 

13 Now on a certain day the sons and daughters of Job 
were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's 

14 house, when a messenger came to Job, and said. The oxen 
were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them, and 

15 the Sabaeans fell upon them, and took them away ; the 
servants also they slew with the edge of the sword ; and 

IG I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet 
speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of 
God hath fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the 
sheep and the servants, and consumed them ; and I only 

17 am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speak- 
ing, there came also another, and said. The Chaldaeans 
made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and 
carried them away ; the servants also they slew with the 
edge of tlie sword ; and I only am escaped alone to tell 

18 thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also 
another, and said. Thy sons and thy daughters were eat- 
ing and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house ; and, 

19 lo ! there came a great wind from the desert, and smote 
the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young 
men, and they are dead ; and I only am escaped alone to 

20 tell thee. Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and 
shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and wor- 

21 shipped ; and said. Naked came I forth from my mother's 
womb, and naked shall I return thither. Jehovah gave, 
and Jehovah hath taken away ; blessed be the name of 
Jehovah ! In all this Job sinned not, nor uttered vain 
words against God. 

1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to 
present themselves before Jehovah ; and Satan came also 
among them to present himself before Jehovah. And 

2 Jehovah said to Satan, Whence comest thou? And Satan 
answered Jehovah, and said. From wandering over the 

3 earth, and walking up and down in it. Then said Jeho- 
vah to Satan, Hast thou observed my servant Job, that 



CHAP. III.l JOB. 39 

there is none like liim upon the earth, an upright and good 
man, fearing God and departing from evil ? And still he 
holdeth fast his integrity, although thou didst excite me 

4 against him to destroy him without a cause. And Satan 
answered Jehovah, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a 

5 man hath will he give for his life. But put forth now 
thy hand, and touch his bone and his flesh, and to thy 

6 face will he renounce thee. And Jehovah said to Satan, 
Behold, he is in thy hand ; but spare his life. 

7 Then Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah, 
and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to 

8 his crown. And he took a potsherd to scrape himself 
withal, and sat down among the ashes. 

9 Then said his wife to him, Dost thou still retain thine 

10 integrity ? Renounce God, and die. But he said to her, 
Thou talkest like one of the foolish women. What ! 
shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we 
not receive evil ? In all this. Job sinned not with his 
lips. 

11 Now three friends of Job heard of all this evil that 
had come upon him, and came each one from his home ; 
Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and 
Zophar the Naamathite ; for they had agreed to come to 

12 mourn with him, and to comfort him. And they lifted 
up their eyes at a distance, and knew him not ; then they 
raised their voices and wept, and rent each one his man- 
tle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads tovt^ard heaven. 

13 And they sat down with him upon the ground seven days 
and seven nights, and none spake a word to him ; for they 
saw that his grief was very great. 



II. 

Job's complaint. — Chap. III. 

1 At length Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day 

2 of his birth. And Job spake and said : 

3 Perish the day in which I was born. 

And the night which said, "- A man-child is conceived ^ " 



40 JOB. [chap. in. 

4 Let that day be darkness ; 

Let not God seek it from above ; 
Yea, let not the light shine upon it ! 

5 Let darkness and the shadow of death redeem it; 
Let a cloud dwell upon it ; 

Let whatever darkeneth the day terrify it ! 

C As for that night, let darkness seize upon it ; 
Let it not rejoice among the days of the year ; 
Let it not come into the number of the months ! 

7 let that night be unfruitful ! 
Let there be in it no voice of joy ; 

8 Let them that curse the day curse it, 
Who are skilful to stir up the leviathan ! 

9 Let the stars of its twilight be darkened ; 
Let it long for light, and have none ; 

Neither let it see the eyelashes of the morning ! 

10 Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, 
And hid not trouble from mine eyes. 

11 Why died I not at my birth ? 

Why did I not expire when I came forth from the womb ? 

12 Why did the knees receive me, 

And why the breasts, that I might suck ? 

13 For now should I lie down and be quiet ; 
I should sleep ; then should I be at rest, 

14 With kings and counsellors of the earth, 
Who built up for themselves — ruins ! 

15 Or with princes that had gold, 
And filled their houses with silver ; 

16 Or, as a hidden untimely birth, I had perished ; 
As infants which never saw the light. 

17 There the wicked cease from troubling; 
There the weary are at rest. 

18 There the prisoners rest together ; 
They hear not the voice of the oppressor. 

19 The small and the great are there. 
And the servant is free from his master. 

ao Why giveth He light to him that is in misery, 
And life to the bitter in soul, 



CHAP. IV.] JOB. 41 

21 Who long for death, and it cometh not, 
And dig for it more than for hid treasures ; 

22 Who rejoice exceedingly, 

Yea, exult, when they can find a grave? 

23 Why is light given to a man from whom the way is hid, 
And whom Grod hath hedged in ? 

24 For my sighing cometh before I eat, 
And my groans are poured out like water. 

25 For that which I dread overtaketh me ; 
That at which I shudder cometh upon me. 

26 I have no peace, nor quiet, nor respite : 
Misery cometh upon me continually. 



III. 

First speech of Eliphaz. — Chap. IY., V. 

1 Then spake Eliphaz the Temanite, and said : 

2 If one attempt a word with thee, wilt thou be offended ? 
But who can refrain from speaking ? 

3 Behold, thou hast admonished many ; 
Thou hast strengthened feeble hands ; 

4 Thy words have upheld him that was falling. 
And thou hast given strength to feeble knees. 

6 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; 
It toucheth thee, and thou art confounded ! 

6 Is not thy fear of God thy hope, 

And the uprightness of thy ways thy confidence ? 

7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent ? 
Or where have the righteous been cut off ? 

8 According to what I have seen, they who plough iniquity, 
And sow mischief, reap the same. 

9 By the blast of God they perish. 

And by the breath of his nostrils they are consumed. 

10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, 
And the teeth of the young lions are broken. 

11 The fierce lion perisheth for lack of prey, 

And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad. 



42 JOB. [chap. v. 

12 A word was once secretly brought to me, 
And mine ear caught a whisper thereof. 

13 Amid thoughts from visions of the night, 
When deep sleep falleth upon men, 

14 A fear and a horror came upon me, 
Which made all my bones to shake. 

15 Then a spirit passed before my face , 
The hair of my flesh rose on end ; 

16 It stood still, but its form I could not discern ; 
An image was before mine eyes ; 

There was silence, and I heard a voice : 

17 " Shall mortal man be more just than God ? 
Shall man be more pure than his Maker ? 

18 Behold, he putteth no trust in his ministering spirits, 
And his angels he chargeth with frailty. 

19 What then are they who dwell in houses of clay, 
Whose foundation is in the dust, 

Who crumble to pieces, as if moth-eaten ! 

20 Between morning and evening are they destroyed ; 
They perish for ever, and none regardeth it. 

21 The excellency that is in them is torn away ; 
They die before they h^ve become wise." 

1 Call now, see if any will answer thee I 
And to which of the holy ones wilt thou look ? 

2 Verily grief destroyeth the fool. 
And wrath consumeth the weak man. 

3 I have seen an impious man taking root, 
But soon I cursed his habitation. 

4 His children are far from safety ; 

They are oppressed at the gate, and there is none to 
deliver them. 

5 His harvest the hungry devour. 
Carrying it even through the thorns ; 
And a snare gapeth after his substance. 

6 For affliction cometh not from the dust. 

Nor doth trouble spring up from the ground ; 

7 Behold, man is born to trouble, 
As the sparks fly upward. 

8 I would look to God, 

And to God would I commit my cause. 



CHAP, v.] JOB. 43 

9 Who doeth great tilings and unsearchable ; 
Yea, marvellous things without number; 

10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, 
And sendeth water upon the fields ; 

11 Who placeth the lowly in high places, 
And restoreth the afflicted to prosperity ; 

12 Who disappointeth the devices of the crafty, 

So that their hands cannot perform their enterprises ; 

13 Who taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 
And brino'eth to nouo-ht the counsel of the artful. 

14 They meet with darkness in the daytime ; 
They grope at noon as if it were night. 

15 So he saveth the persecuted from their mouth; 
The oppressed from the hand of the mighty. 

16 So the poor hath hope. 

And iniquity stoppeth her mouth. 

17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth ; 
Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty 

18 For he bruiseth, and bindeth up ; 

He woundeth, and his hands make whole. 

19 In six troubles will he deliver thee ; 
Yea, in seven shall no evil touch thee. 

20 In famine he will redeem thee from death, 
And in war from the power of the sword. 

2J Thou shalt be safe from the scourge of the tongue. 
And shalt not be afraid of destruction, when it cometh. 

22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh. 

And of the wild beasts of the land shalt thou not be 
afraid. 

23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field ; 
Yea, the beasts of the forest shall be at peace with thee. 

24 Thou shalt find that thy tent is in peace ; 

Thou shalt visit thy dwelling, and not be disappointed. 

25 Thou shalt see thy descendants numerous, 
And thine offspring as the grass of the earth. 

26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in full age. 
As a shock of corn gathered in its season. 

27 Lo ! this we have searched out ; so it is : 
Hear it, and lay it up in thy mind ! 



44 JOB. fCHAP. VI. 

IV. 

Answer of Job. — Chap. VI., VII. 

1 Then Job answered and said : 

2 O that my grief were weighed thoroughly ! 

That my calamities were put together in the balance ! 

3 Surely they would be heavier than the sand of the sea ; 
On this account were my words rash. 

4 For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me ; 
Their poison drinketh up my spirit ; 

The terrors of God set themselves in array against me. 

5 Doth the wild ass bray in the midst of grass ? 
Or loweth the ox over his fodder ? 

6 Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt ? 
Is there any taste in the white of an egg ? 

7 That which my soul abhorreth to touch 
Hath become my loathsome food. 

8 O that I might have my request, 

And that God would grant me that which I long for ! 

9 That it would please God to destroy me ; 

That he would let loose his hand, and make an end of me ! 

10 Yet it should still be my consolation. 
Yea, in unsparing anguish I would exult. 

That I have not denied the commands of the Holy -One. 

11 What is my strength, that I should hope ? 
And what mine end, that I should be patient ? 

12 Is my strength the strength of stones ? 
Or is my flesh brass ? 

13 Alas, there is no help within me ! 
Deliverance is driven from me ! 

14 To the afl[licted, kindness should be shown by a friend ; 
Else he casteth off the fear of the Almighty. 

15 But my brethren are faithless like a brook ; 
Like streams of the valley that pass away ; 

16 Which are turbid by reason of the ice. 
And the snow, which hideth itself in them. 

17 As soon as they flow forth, they vanish ; 

When the heat cometh, they are dried up from their place. 



cviAP. ^^I.] JOB. 45 

18 The caravans turn aside to them on their way ; 
They go up into the desert, and perish. 

19 The caravans of Tema look for them ; 

The companies of Sheba expect to see them ; 

20 They are ashamed that they have relied on them ; 
They come to their place, and are confounded. 

21 So ye also are nothing ; 

Ye see a terror, and shrink back. 

22 Have I said, Bring me gifts ? 

Or, Give a present for me out of your substance ? 

23 Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand ? 

Or, Rescue me from the hand of the violent ? 

24 Convince me, and I will hold my peace ; 
Cause me to understand wherein I have erred. 

25 How powerful are the words of truth ! 
But what do your reproaches prove ? 

26 Do ye mean to censure words ? 

The words of a man in despair are but wind. 

27 Truly ye spread a net for the fatherless ; 
Ye dig a pit for your friend. 

28 Look now upon me, I pray you ; 

For to your very face can I speak falsehood ? 

29 Return, I pray, and let there be no unfairness ; 
Yea, return ; — still is my cause righteous. 

30 Is there iniquity on my tongue ? 
Cannot my taste discern what is sinful ? 

1 Is there not a war-service for man on the earth ? 
Are not his days as the days of a hireling ? 

2 As a servant panteth for the shade. 
And as a hireling looketh for his wages, 

3 So am I made to possess months of affliction, 
And wearisome nights are appointed for me. 

4 If I lie down, I say, 

"When shall I arise, and the night be gone ? 

And 1 am full of restlessness until the dawning of the day. 
6 My flesh is clothed with worms, and clods of dust; 

My skin is broken and become loathsome. 
6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle ; 

They pass away without hope. 



46 JOB. [chap. vn. 

7 O remember that mj life is a breath ; 
That mine eye shall no more see good ! 

8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no 

more ; 
'J'hine eyes shall look for me, but I shall not be. 

9 As the cloud dissolveth and wasteth away, 

So he that goeth down to the grave shall arise no more ; 

10 No more shall he return to his house. 

And his dwelling-place shall know him no more. 

11 Therefore I will not restrain my mouth ; 
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit ; 

3 will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 

12 Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, 
That thou settest a watch over me ? 

13 When I say, My bed shall relieve me, 
My couch shall ease my complaint, 

14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, 
And terrifiest me with visions ; 

15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, 
Yea, death, rather than these my bones. 

16 I am wasting away ; I shall not live alway : 
Let me alone, for my days are a vapor ! 

17 What is man, that thou shouldst make great account of 

him, 
And fix thy mind upon him ? — 

18 That thou shouldst visit him every morning. 
And prove him every moment ? 

19 How long ere thou wilt look away from me, 
And let me alone, till I have time to breathe? 

20 If I have sinned, what have I done to thee, thou 

watcher of men ! 
Why hast thou set me up as thy mark. 
So that I have become a burden to myself? 

21 And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, 
And take away mine iniquity ? 

22 For soon shall I sleep in the dust ; 

And, though thou seek me diligently, I shall not be 



fJHAP. VIII-l JOB. ^ 47 



First speech of Bildad, the Shuhite. — Chap. VIII. 

1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said : 

2 How long wilt thou speak such things ? 

How long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong 
wind? 

3 Will God pervert judgment ? 

Or will the Almighty pervert justice ? 

4 As thy children sinned against him, 

He hath given them up to their transgression. 

5 But if thou wilt seek early to God, 

And make thy supplication to the Almighty, — 

6 If thou wilt be pure and upright. 
Surely he will yet arise for thee, 
And prosper thy righteous habitation ; 

7 So that thy beginning shall be small, 
And thy latter end very great. 

8 For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, 

And mark what hath been searched out by their fathers ; 

9 (For we are of yesterday and know nothing. 
Since our days upon the earth are but a shadow ;) 

10 Will not they instruct thee, and tell thee, 
And utter words from their understanding? 

11 " Can the paper-reed grow up without mire ? 
Can the bulrush grow without water ? 

12 While it is yet in its greenness, and is not cut down, 
It withereth before any other herb. 

13 Such is the fate of all who forget God ; 
So perisheth the hope of the ungodly. 

14 His confidence shall come to nought. 
And his trust shall prove a spider's web. 

15 He shall lean upon his house, and it shall not stand ; 
He shall lay fast hold on it, but it shall not endure. 

16 He is in full green before the sun, 

And his branches shoot forth over his garden ; 

17 His roots are entwined about the heap, 
And he seeth the place of stones ; 



48 . JOB. [chap. IX. 

18 When he shall be destroyed from his place, 
It shall deny him, saying, ' I never saw thee.' 

19 Lo ! such is the joy of his course ! 

And others shall spring up from his place." 

20 Behold, God will not cast away an upright man ; 
Nor will he help the evil-doers. 

21 While he filleth thy mouth with laughter, • 
And thy lips with gladness, 

22 They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame. 

And the dwelling-place of the wicked shall come to 
nought. 



VI. 

Answer of Job. — Chap. IX., X. 

1 Then Job answered and said : 

2 Of a truth, I know that it is so : 
For how can man be just before God ? 

3 If he choose to contend with him, 

He cannot answer him to one charge of a thousand. 

4 He is excellent in wisdom, mighty in strength : 

Who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered? 

5 He removeth the mountains, and they know it not ; 
He overturneth them in his anger. 

6 He shaketh the earth out of her place, 
And the pillars thereof tremble. 

7 He commandeth the sun, and it riseth not. 
And he sealeth up the stars. 

8 He alone spreadeth out the heavens, 

And walketh upon the high waves of the sea. 

9 He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiads, 
And the secret chambers of the South. 

VO He doeth great things past finding out. 

Yea, wonderful things without number. 
11 Lo ! he goeth by me, but I see him not ; 

He passeth along, but I do not perceive him. 



CHAP. IX.] JOB. 49 

12 Lo ! he seizeth, and who can hinder him ? 
Who will say to him, What doest thou ? 

13 God will not turn away his anger ; 

The proud helpers are brought low before him. 

14 How much less shall I answer him, 

And choose out words to contend with him ? 

15 Though I were innocent, I would not answer him ; 
I would cast myself on the mercy of my judge. 

16 Should I call, and he make answer to me, 

I could not believe that he listened to my voice, — 

17 He who falleth upon me with a tempest. 
And multiplieth my wounds without cause ! 

18 Who will not suffer me to take my breath, 
But filleth me with bitterness ! 

19 If I look to strength, " Lo ! here am I ! " [saith he,] 
If to justice, " Who shall summon me to trial ? " 

20 Though I were upright, yet must my own mouth con* 

demn me; 
Though I were innocent. He would prove me perverse. 

21 Though I were innocent, I would not care for myself; 
I would despise my life. 

22 It is all one ; therefore I will affirm. 

He destroyeth the righteous and the wicked alike. 

23 When the scourge bringeth sudden destruction, 
He laugheth at the suiFerings of the innocent. 

24 The earth is given into the hands of the wicked ; 
He covereth the face of the judges thereof; 

If it be not He, who is it ? 

25 My days have been swifter than a courier ; 
They have fled away ; they have seen no good. 

26 They have gone by like the reed-skiffs ; 
Like the eagle, darting upon his prey. 

27 If I say, I will forget my lamentation, 

I will change my countenance, and take courage, 

28 Still am I in dread of the multitude of my sorrows 
For I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. 

29 I shall be found guilty ; 

Why then should I labor in vain ? 

30 If I wash myself in snow, 
And cleanse my hands with lye, 

3 



50 JOB. [chap. X. 

31 Still wilt tliou plunge me into the pit, 
So that my own clothes will abhor me. 

32 For He is not a man, as I am, that I may contend with 

him, 
And that we may go together into judgment ; 

33 There is no umpire between us, 
Who may lay his hand upon us both. 

34 Let him take from me his rod, 
And not dismay me with his terrors, 

35 Then I will speak, and not be afraid of him : 
For I am not so at heart. 

1 I am weary of my life ; 

I will let loose within me my complaint ; 
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 

2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me ! 
Show me wherefore thou contendest with me ! 

3 Is it a pleasure to thee to oppress, 
And to despise the work of thy hands, 
And to shine upon the plans of the wicked? 

4 Hast thou eyes of flesh, 

Or seest thou as man seeth ? 

5 Are thy days as the days of a man, 
Are thy years as the days of a mortal, 

6 That thou seekest after my iniquity, 
And searches t after my sin, 

7 Though thou knowest that I am not guilty, 
And that none can deliver from thy hand ? 

8 Have thy hands completely fashioned and made me 
In every part, that thou rnightst destroy me ? 

9 O remember that thou hast moulded me as clay ! 
And wilt thou bring me again to dust ? 

10 Thou didst pour me out as milk. 
And curdle me as cheese ; 

11 AYith skin and flesh didst thou clothe me. 
And strengthen me with bones and sinews ; 

12 Thou didst grant me life and favor, 
And thy protection preserved my breath : 

13 Yet these things thou didst lay up in thy heart! 
I know that this was in thy mind. 



CHAP. XI.] JOB. 51 

14 If I sin, then thou markest me, 

And wilt not acquit me of mine iiiif^vUy. 

15 If I am wicked, — then woe unio aie ! 
Yet if righteous, I dare not lift up mj head ; 
I am full of confusion, beholding my affliction. 

16 If I lift it up, like a lion thou huntest me, 
And again showest thyself terrible unto me. 

17 Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, 
And increasest thine anger toward me ; 
New hosts continually rise up against me. 

18 Why then didst thou bring me forth from the womb ? 
I should have perished, and no eye had seen me ; 

19 I should be as though I had not been ; 

I should have been borne from the womb to the grave. 

20 Are not my days few ? O spare theii. 

And let me alone, that I may be at ease a littls while, 

21 Before I go — whence I shall not return -— 
To the land of darkness and death-shade, 

22 The land of darkness like the blackness of death-shade*. 
Where is no order, and where the light is as darkness. 



YII. 

First speech of Zoptiar the Naamathite. — Chap. XI. 

1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said : 

2 Shall not the multitude of words receive an answer ? 
Shall the man of words be justified? 

3 Shall thy boastings make men hold their peace ? 
Shalt thou mock, and none put thee to shame ? 

4 Thou sayest, My speech is pure ; 

I am clean in thine eyes, [O God !] 

5 But O that God would speak. 
And open his lips against thee ; 

6 That he would show thee the secrets of his wisdom, — 
His wisdom, which is unsearchable ! 

Then shouldst thou know that God forgiveth thee many 
of thine iniquities. 



52 JOB [chap. xn. 

7 Canst thou search out the deep things of God ? 
Canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection ? 

8 'Tis high as heaven, what canst thou do? 
Deeper than hell, what canst thou know ? 

9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, 
And broader than the sea. 

10 If he apprehend, and bind, and bring to trial, 
Who shall oppose him ? 

11 For he knoweth the unrighteous ; 

He seeth iniquity, when they do not observe it. 

12 But vain man is without understanding ; 
Yea, man is born a wild ass's colt. 

13 If thou direct thy heart, 

And stretch out thy hands, toward him ; 

14 If thou put away iniquity from thy hand, 

And let not wickedness dwell in thy habitation, — 

15 Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot ; 
Yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and have no fear. 

16 For thou shalt forget thy misery. 

Or remember it as waters that have passed away. 

17 Thy life shall be brighter than the noon-day ; 

Now thou art in darkness, thou shalt then be as the 
morning. 

18 Thou shalt be secure, because there is hope ; 

Now thou art disappointed, thou shalt then rest in safety. 

19 Thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid ; 
And many shall make suit unto thee. 

20 But the eyes of the wicked shall ba wearied out ; 
They shall find no refuge ; 

Their hope is — the breathing forth of life. 



YIIL 

Answerof Job.— Chap. XII., XIII., XIV. 

1 Then Job answered and said : 

2 No doubt ye are the whole people ! 
And wisdom will die with you ! 



CHAP. XII.] JOB, 53 

3 But I have understanding as well as you ; 
I am not inferior to you : 

Yea, who knoweth not such things as these ? 

4 I am become a laughing-stock to my friend, — 

I who call upon God, that he would answer me ! 
The innocent and upright man is held in derision. 

5 To calamity belongeth contempt in the mind of one at 

ease ; 
It is ready for them that slip with the feet. 
a The tents of robbers are in prosperity, 
And they who provoke God are secure, 
Who carry their God in their hand. 

7 For ask now the beasts, and they will teach thee; 
- Or the fowls of the air, and they will tell thee ; 

8 Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct thee ; 
And the fishes of the sea will declare unto thee. 

9 Who among all these doth not know 

That the hand of Jehovah doeth these things ? 

10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, 
And the breath of all mankind. 

11 Doth not the ear prove words, 
As the mouth tasteth meat? 

12 With the aged is wisdom, 

And with length of days is understanding. 

13 With Him are wisdom and strength ; 
With Him counsel and understanding. 

14 Lo ! he puUeth down, and it shall not be rebuilt ; 
He bindeth a man, and he shall not be set loose. 

15 Lo ! he withholdeth the waters, and they are dried up ; 
He sendeth them forth, and they lay waste the earth. 

16 With him are strength and wisdom ; 
The deceived and the deceiver are his. 

17 He leadeth counsellors away captive, 
And judges he maketh fools. 

18 He looseth the authority of kings, 
And bindeth their loins with a cord. 

19 He leadeth priests away captive, 
And overthroweth the mighty. 

20 He removeth speech from the trusty, 

And taketh away judgment from the elders. 



54 JOB. [chap, xiil 

21 He poureth contempt upon princes, 
And looseth the girdle of tlie mighty. 

22 He revealeth deep things out of darkness, 
And bringeth the shadow of death to light 

23 He exalteth nations, and destroyeth them ; 

He enlargeth nations, and leadeth them captive. 

24 He taketh away the understanding of the great men of 

the land, 
And cause th them to wander in a wilderness, where is no 

25 They grope in the dark without light ; [path ; 
He maketh them stagger like a drunken man. 

1 Lo ! all this mine eye hath seen ; 
Mine ear hath heard and understood it. 

2 What ye know, I know also ; 
I am not inferior to you. 

3 But that I might speak with the Almighty ! 
that I might reason with God ! 

4 For ye are forgers of lies ; 
Physicians of no value, all of you ! 

5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace ! 
This, truly, would be wisdom in you. 

6 Hear, I pray you, my arguments ; 
Attend to the pleadings of my lips ! 

7 Will ye speak falsehood for God ? 
Will ye utter deceit for him ? 

8 Will ye be partial to his person ? 
Will ye contend earnestly for God ? 

9 Will it be well for you, if he search you thoroughly ? 
Can ye deceive him, as one may deceive a man ? 

10 Surely he will rebuke you, 

If ye secretly have respect to persons. 

11 Doth not his majesty make you afraid, 
And his dread fall upon 3'ou ? 

12 Your maxims are words of dust ; 
Your fortresses are fortresses of clay. 

13 Hold your peace, and let me speak : 
And then come upon me what will ! 

14 Why do I take my flesh in my teeth, 
And put my life in my hand ? 



CHAP, xiv] JOB. 55 

15 Lo ! he slayeth me, and I have no hope I 
Yet will I justify my ways before him. 

16 This also shall be my deliverance ; 

For no unrighteous man will come before hinu 

17 Hear attentively my words, 
And give ear to my declaration ! 

18 Behold, I have now set in order my cause ; 
I know that I am innocent. 

19 Who is he that can contend with me ? 
For then would I hold my peace, and die ! 

20 Only do not unto me two things, 

Then will I not hide myself from thy presence ; 

21 Let not thy hand be heavy upon me, 
And let not thy terrors make me afraid : 

22 Then call upon me, and I will answer ; 
Or I will speak, and answer thou me. 

28 How many are my iniquities and sins ? 

Make me to know my faults and transgressions. 

24 Wherefore dost thou hide thy face, 
And account me as thine enemy ? 

25 Wilt thou put in fear the driven leaf? 
Wilt thou pursue the dry stubble ? 

26 For thou writest bitter things against me, 
And makest me inherit the sins of my youth. 

27 Yea, thou puttest my feet in the stocks. 
And watches t all my paths ; 

Thou hemmest in the soles of my feet. 

28 And I, like an abandoned thing, shall waste away ; 
Like a garment which is moth-eaten. 

1 Man, that is born of woman. 

Is of few days, and full of trouble. 

2 He Cometh forth as a flower, and is cut down ; 
He fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. 

3 And dost thou fix thine eyes upon such a one ? 
And dost thou bring me into judgment with thee ? 

4 Who can produce a clean thing from an unclean ? 
Not one. 

5 Seeing that his days are determined. 
And the number of his m.onths, with thee, 



66 JOB. [chap. XIV. 

And that thou hast appointed him bounds which he can- 
not pass, 

6 O turn thine eyes from him, and let him rest, 
That he may enjoy, as a hireling, his day ! 

7 For there is hope for a tree, 

If it be cut down, that it will sprout again, 
And that its tender branches will not fail ; 

8 Though its root may have grown old in the earth, 
And though its trunk be dead upon the ground, 

9 Through the scent of water it will bud, 
And put forth boughs, like a young plant. 

10 But man dieth, and he is gone ! 
Man expireth, and where is he ? 

11 The waters fail from the lake. 

And the stream wasteth and drieth up ; 

12 So man lieth down, and riseth not ; 

Till the heavens be no more, he shall not awake, 
Nor be roused from his sleep. 

13 O that thou wouldst hide me in the under-world ! 
That thou wouldst conceal me till thy wrath be past ! 
That thou wouldst appoint me a time, and then remem- 
ber me ! 

14 If a man die, can he live again ? 

All the days of my war-service would I wait, 
Till my change should come. 

15 Thou wilt call, and I will answer thee ; 

Thou wilt have compassion upon the work of thy hands I 

16 But now thou numberest my steps ; 
Thou watchest over my sins. 

17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag; 
Yea, thou addest unto my iniquity. 

18 As the mountain falling cometh to nought, 
And the rock is removed from its place ; 

19 As the waters wear away the stones, 

And the floods wash away the dust of the earth, — 
So thou destroyest the hope of man. 



CHAP. XV ] JOB. 67 

20 Thou prevailest against him continually, and he perisheth ; 
Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. 

21 His sons come to honor, but he knoweth it not ; 
Or they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not. 

22 But his flesh shall have pain for itself alone ; 
For itself alone shall his soul mourn. 



IX. 

Second speech of Eliphaz the Temanite. — Chap. XT. 

1 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said : 

2 Should a wise man answer with arguments of wind, 
Or fill his bosom with the east wind ? 

3 Should he argue with speech that helpeth him not, 
And with words which do not profit him ? 

4 Behold, thou makest the fear of God a vain thing, 
And discouragest prayer before him. 

6 Yea, thy own mouth proclaim eth thy iniquity, 
Though thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. 

6 Thy own mouth condemneth thee, and not I ; 
Thy own lips testify against thee. 

7 Art thou the first man that was born ? 
Wast thou formed before the hills ? 

8 Hast thou listened in the council of God, 
And drawn all wisdom to thyself? 

9 What dost thou know, that we know not also ? 
What dost thou understand, that is a secret to us ? 

10 With us are the aged and hoary-headed ; 

Much older than thy father, 
n Dost ihou despise the consolations of God, 

And words so full of kindness to thee ? 

12 Why hath thy passion taken possession of thee ? 
And why this winking of thine eyes ? 

13 For against God hast thou turned thy spirit. 
And uttered such words from thy mouth. 

8* 



68 JOB. [cHAr, XV. 

14 What is man, that he should be pure, 

And he that is born of woman, that he should be innocent ? 

15 Behold, He putteth no trust in his ministering spirits, 
And the heavens are not pure in his sight ; 

16 Much less, abominable and polluted man, 
Who drinketh iniquity as water. 

17 Hear me, and I will show thee. 

And that which I have seen will I declare ; 

18 Which the wise men have told, 

And not kept concealed, as received from their fathers ; 

19 To whom alone the land was given. 

And among whom not a stranger wandered. 

20 " All his days the wicked man is in pain ; 

Yea, all the years, that are laid up for the oppressor. 

21 A fearful sound is in his ears ; 

In peace the destroyer cometh upon him. 

22 He hath no hope that he shall escape from darkness ; 
He is set apart for the sword. 

23 He wandereth about, seeking bread ; 

He knoweth that a day of darkness is at hand. 

24 Distress and anguish fill him with dread ; 

They prevail against him like a king ready for the battle. 

25 Because he stretched forth his hand against God, 
And bade defiance to the Almighty, 

26 And ran against him with outstretched neck, 
With the thick bosses of his bucklers ; 

27 Because he covered his face with fatness, 
And gathered fat upon his loins, 

28 And dwelt in desolated cities, 

In houses which no man inhabiteth, 
That are ready to become heaps. 

29 He shall not be rich ; his substance shall not endure. 
And his possessions shall not be extended upon the earth. 

30 He shall not escape from darkness, 

And the flame shall dry up his branches ; 
Yea, by the breath of His mouth shall he be taken 
away. 

31 " Let not man trust in vanity ! he will be deceived ; 
For vanity shall be his recompense. 



CHAP. XYI.] JOB. 59 

32 He shall come to his end before his time, 
And his branch shall not be green. 

33 He shall shake off his unripe fruit like the vine, 
And shed his blossoms like the olive-tree. 

34 The house of the unrighteous shall be famished, 
And fire shall consume the tents of bribery. 

35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth misery, 
And their breast deviseth deceit." 



Answer of Job. — Chap. XYI., XVII. 

1 But Job answered and said : 

2 Of such things as these I have heard enough ! 
Miserable comforters are ye all ! 

3 Will there ever be an end to words of wind ? 
What stirreth thee up, that thou answerest? 

4 I also might speak like you, 
If ye were now in my place ; 

I miglit string together words against you, 
And shake my head at you. 

5 But I would strengthen you with my mouth, 
And the consolation of my lips should sustain you. 

6 If I speak, my grief is not assuaged ; 
And if I forbear, it doth not leave me. 

7 For now He hath quite exhausted me ; — 
Thou hast desolated all my house ! 

8 Thou hast seized hold of me, and this is a witness against 

me ; 
My leanness riseth up and testifieth against me to my face. 

9 His anger teareth my flesh, and pursueth me; 
He gnasheth upon me with his teeth ; 

My adversary sharpen eth his eyes upon me. 
10 They gape for me with their mouths ; 
In scorn they smite me on the cheek ; 
With one consent they assemble against me. 



GO JOB. [chap, x-vil 

11 God hath given me a prey to the unrighteous, 
And delivered me into the hands of the wicked. 

12 I was at ease, but he hath crushed me ; 

He hath seized me by the neck, and dashed me in pieces j 
He hath set me up for his mark. 

13 His archers encompass me around ; 

He pierceth my reins, and doth not spare ; 
He poureth out my gall upon the ground. 

14 He breaketh me with breach upon breach ; 
He rusheth upon me like a warrior. 

15 I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, 
And thrust my horn into the dust. 

16 My face is red with weeping, 

And upon my eyelids is deathlike darkness. 

17 Yet is there no injustice in my hands. 
And my prayer hath been pure. 

18 O earth ! c6ver not thou my blood. 

And let there be no hiding-place for my cry ! 

19 Yet even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, 
And he who knoweth me is on high. 

20 My friends have me in derision. 

But my eye poureth out tears unto God. 

21 O that one might contend for a man with God, 
As a man contendeth with his neighbor ! 

22 For when a few years shall have passed, 

I shall go the way whence I shall not return. 

1 My breath is exhausted ; 
My days are at an end ; 
The grave is ready for me. 

2 Are not revilers before me ? 

And doth not my eye dwell upon their provocations ? 

3 Give a pledge, I pray thee ; be thou a surety for me with 

thee; 
Who is he that will strike hands with me ? 

4 Behold, thou hast blinded their understanding ; 
Therefore thou wilt not suffer them to prevail. 

5 He who delivereth up his friends as a prey, — 
The eyes of his children shall fail. 



CHAP. XVIII.] JOB. 61 

6 He hath made me the by-word of the people ; 
Yea, I have become their abhorrence. 

7 My eye therefore is dim with sorrow, 
And all my limbs are as a shadow. 

8 Upright men will be astonished at this, 

And the innocent will rouse themselves against the Avicked. 

9 The righteous will also hold on his way, 

And he that hath clean hands will gather strength. 

10 But as for you all, return, I pray ! 

I find not yet among you one wise man. 

11 My days are at an end ; 
My plans are broken off; 
Even the treasures of my heart. 

12 Night hath become day to me ; 
The light bordereth on darkness. 

13 Yea, I look to the grave as my home ; 
I have made my bed in darkness. 

14 I say to the pit, Thou art my father ! 

And to the worm, My mother ! and. My sister ! 

15 Where then is my hope ? 

Yea, my hope, who shall see it ? 

16 It must go down to the bars of the under-world, 
As soon as there is rest for me in the dust. 



XI. 

Second speech of Bildad the Shuhite. — Chap. XYIII. 

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said : 

2 How long ere ye make an end of words ? 
Ui.derstand, and then we will speak ! 

3 Why are we accounted as brutes. 
And reputed vile in your sight ? 

4 Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger I 
Must the earth be deserted for thee. 
And the rock removed from its place ? 



62 JOB. [chap, xvhl 

6 Behold, the light of the wicked shall be put out, 
And the flame of his fire shall not shine. 

6 Lio^ht shall become darkness in his tent, 
And his lamp over him shall go out. 

7 His strong steps shall be straitened, 
And his own plans shall cast him down. 

8 He is brought into the net by his own feet. 
And he walketh upon snares. 

9 The trap layeth hold of him by the heel, 
And the snare holdeth him fast. 

10 A net is secretly laid for him on the ground, 
And a trap for him in the pathway. 

11 Terrors affright him on every side, 
And harass him at his heels. 

12 His strength is wasted by hunger, 
And destruction is ready at his side. 

13 His limbs are consumed. 

Yea, his limbs are devoured by the first-born of death. 

14 He is torn from his tent, which was his confidence, 
And is borne away to the king of terrors. 

15 They who are none of his shall dwell in his tent ; 
Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. 

16 His roots below shall be dried up. 

And his branches above shall be withered. 

17 His memory perisheth from the earth, 
And no name hath he in the land. 

18 He shall be thrust from light into darkness, 
And driven out of the world. 

19 He hath no son, nor kinsman among his people. 
Nor any survivor in his dwelling-place. 

20 They that come after him shall be amazed at his fate, 
As they that were before them were struck with horror. 

21 Yea, such is the dwelling of the unrighteous man ; 
Such is the place of him who knoweth not God ! 



CHAP, xix] JOB. 63 

XIL 

Answer of Job. — Chap. XIX. 

1 But Job answered and said : 

2 How long will ye vex my soul, 
And break me in pieces with words ? 

3 These ten times have ye reviled me ; 
Without shame do ye stun me ! 

4 And be it, indeed, that I have erred, 
My error abideth with myself. 

5 Since, indeed, ye magnify yourselves against me, 
And plead against me my reproach, 

6 Know then that it is God who hath brought me low ; 
He hath encompassed me with his net. 

7 Behold, I complain of wrong, but receive no answer ; 
I cry aloud, but obtain no justice. 

8 He hath fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass, 
And hath set darkness in my paths. 

9 He hath stripped me of my glory. 
And taken the crown from my head. 

10 He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone ! 
He hath torn up my hope like a tree. 

11 He kindleth his anger against me, 
And counteth me as his enemy. 

12 His troops advance together against me ; 
They throw up for themselves a way to me. 
And encamp around my dwelling. 

13 My brethren he hath put far from me. 

And my acquaintance are wholly estranged from me. 

14 My kinsfolk have forsaken me, 

And my bosom friends have forgotten me. 

15 The foreigners of my house, yea, my own maid-servants, 

regard me as a stranger ; 
I am an alien in their eyes. 

16 I call my servant, and he maketh no answer ; 
With my own mouth do I entreat him. 

17 My breath is become strange to my wife, 
And my prayers also to my own mother's sons. 



64 JOB. [chap. XX. 

18 Even young children despise me ; 
When I rise up, they speak against me. 

19 All my bosom friends abhor me, 

And they whom I loved are turned against me. 

20 My bones cleave to my flesh and my skin, 

And I have scarcely escaped with the skin of my teeth. 

21 Have pity upon me, O ye my friends ! have pity upon me ; 
For the hand of God hath smitten me ! 

22 Why do ye persecute me like God, 
And are not satisfied with my flesh ? 

23 O that my words were now written ! 

O that they were marked down in a scroll ! 

24 That with an iron pen, and with lead, 
They were engraven upon the rock for ever ! 

25 Yet I know that my Vindicator liveth, 
And will hereafter stand up on the earth ; 

26 And though with my skin this body be wasted away, 
Yet without my flesh shall I see God. 

27 Yea, I shall see him my friend ; 

My eyes shall behold him, and not another: 
For this, my soul panteth within me. 

28 Since ye say, " How may we persecute him, 
And find grounds of accusation against him ? " 

29 Be ye afraid of the sword ! 

For malice is a crime for the sword ; 
That ye may know that judgment cometh. 



XIIL 

Second speech of Zophar the Naamathite. — Chap. XX. 

1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said : 

2 For this do my thoughts lead me to reply, 
And for this is my ardor within me. 

3 I have heard my shameful rebuke ; 

And the spirit, from my understanding, answereth for me 



CHAP. XX.] JOB. 65 

4 Knowest thou not, that from the days of old, 
From the time when man was placed upon the earth, 

6 The triumphing of the wicked hath been short, 
And the joy of the impious but for a moment ? 

6 Though his greatness mount up to the heavens. 
And his head reach to the clouds, 

7 Yet shall he perish for ever, and be mingled with dust ; 
They who saw him shall say. Where is he ? 

8 He shall flee away like a dream, and shall not be found ; 
Yea, he shall disappear like a vision of the night. 

9 The eye also which saw him shall see him no more. 
And his dwelling-place shall never more behold him. 

10 His sons shall seek the favor of the poor, 
And their hands shall give back his wealth. 

11 His bones are full of his youth, 

But they shall lie down with him in the dust. 

12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth. 
Though he hide it under his tongue, 

13 Though he cherish it, and will not part with it, 
And keep it fast in his mouth, 

14 Yet his meat shall be changed within him, 
And become to him the poison of asps. 

15 He hath glutted himself with riches. 
And he shall throw them up again ; 
Yea, God shall cast them out of his body. 

16 He shall suck the poison of asps ; 

The tongue of the viper shall destroy him. 

17 He shall never see the flowing streams, 
And the rivers of honey and milk. 

18 The fruits of his toil he shall give back, and shall not 

enjoy them : 
It is substance to be restored, and he shall not rejoice 
therein. 

19 Because he hath oppressed and abandoned the poor, 
And seized upon the house which he did not build ; 

20 Because he knew no rest in his bosom. 

He shall not save that in which he delighteth. 

21 Because nothing escaped his greediness. 
His prosperity shall not endure. 



66 JOB. [chap. XXL 

22 In the fulness of his abundance he shall be brought low ; 
Every hand of the wretched shall come upon hira. 

23 He shall, indeed, have wherewith to fill himself: 
God shall send upon him the fury of his anger, 
And rain it down upon him for his food. 

24 If he fieeth from the iron weapon. 

The bow of brass shall pierce hini through. 

25 He draweth the arrow, and it cometh forth from his body ; 
Yea, the glittering steel cometh out of his gall. 

Terrors are upon him ; 

26 Calamity of every kind is treasured up for him. 
A fire not blown shall consume him ; 

It shall consume whatever is left in his tent. 

27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity. 
And the earth shall rise up against him. 

28 The substance of his house shall disappear ; 
It shall flow away in the day of His wrath. 

29 Such is the portion of the wicked man from God, 

And the inheritance appointed for him by the Almighty. 



XIV. 

Answer of Job. — Chap. XXI. 

1 But Job answered and said : 

2 Hear attentively my words, 
And let this be your consolation. 

3 Bear with me, that I may speak ; 
And after I have spoken, mock on ! 

4 Is my complaint concerning man ? 
Why then should I not be angry ? 

6 Look upon me, and be astonished, 
And lay your hand upon your mouth ! 

6 When I think of it, I am confounded; 
Trembling taketh hold of my flesh. 

7 Why is it that the wicked live, 

Grow old, yea, become mighty in substance ? 



CHAP. XXI ] JOB. 67 

8 Their cliildreu are established in their sight with thein, 
And their offspring before their eyes. 

9 Their houses are in peace, without fear, 
And the rod of God cometh not upon them. 

10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth not ; 
Their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. 

11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, 
And their children dance. 

12 They sing to the timbrel and harp, 
And rejoice at the sound of the pipe. 

13 They spend their days in prosperity, 

And in a moment go down to the under-world. 

14 And yet they say unto God, " Depart from us ! 
We desire not the knowledge of thy ways ! 

15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? 
And what will it profit us, if we pray to him ? " 

16 [Ye say,] " Lo ! their prosperity is not secure in their 

hands ! 
Far from me be the conduct of the wicked ! " 

17 How often is it, that the lamp of the wicked is put out, 
And that destruction cometh upon them. 

And that He dispenseth to them tribulations in his anger ? 

18 How often are they as stubble before the wind, 
Or as chaff, which the whirlwind carrieth away ? 

19 " But " [say ye] '' God layeth up his iniquity for his 

children." 
Let him requite the offender, and let him feel it ! 

20 Let his own eyes see his destruction, 

And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty ! 

21 For what concern hath he for his household after him. 
When the number of his own months is completed ? 

22 Who then shall impart knowledge to God, — 
To him that judgeth the highest ? 

23 One dieth in the fulness of his prosperity, 
Being wholly at ease and quiet ; 

24 His sides are full of fat. 

And his bones moist with marrow. 

25 Another dieth in bitterness of soul. 
And hath not tasted pleasure. 



68 JOB. [chap. xxn. 

26 Alike they lie down in the dust. 
And the worms cover them. 

27 Behold, I know your thoughts, 

And the devices by which ye wrong me. 

28 For ye say, " Where is the house of the oppressor, 
And where the dwelling-places of the wicked ? " 

29 Have ye never inquired of travellers, 
And do ye not know their tokens, 

30 That the wicked is spared in the day of destruction, 
And that he is borne to his grave in the day of wrath ? 

31 Who will charge him with his conduct to his face. 
And who will requite him for the evil he hath done ? 

32 Even this man is borne with honor to the grave ; 
Yea, he watcheth over his tomb. 

33 Sweet to him are the sods of the valley : 
And all men move after him, 

As multitudes without number before him. 

34 Why then do ye offer your vain consolations ? 
Your answers continue false. 



XV. 

Third speech of Eliphaz the Temanite. — Chap. XXII. 

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said : 

2 Can a man, then, profit God ? 
Behold, the wise man profiteth himself. 

3 Is it a pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous ; 
Or a gain to him, that thou walkest uprightly ? 

4 Will he contend with thee because he feareth thee ? 
Will he enter with thee into judgment ? 

5 Hath not thy wickedness been great ? 
Have not thine iniquities been numberless ? 

6 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother unjustly, 
And stripped the poor of their clothing. 

7 Thou hast given the weary no water to drink, 
And withholden bread from the hungry. 



CHAP, xxn.] JOB. 69 

8 But the man of power, his was the land, 
And the honorable man dwelt in it. 

9 Thou hast sent widows away empty, 
And broken the arms of the fatherless. 

10 Therefore snares are round about thee. 
And sudden fear confoundeth thee ; 

11 Or darkness, through which thou canst not see, 
And floods of water cover thee. 

12 Is not God in the height of heaven ? 
And behold the stars, how high they are ! 

13 Hence thou say est, " What doth God know ? 
Can he govern behind the thick darkness ? 

14 Dark clouds are a veil to him, and he cannot see ; 
And he walketh upon the arch of heaven." 

15 Wilt thou take the old way 
Which wicked men have trodden, 

16 Who were cut down before their time, 

And whose foundations were swept away by a flood? 

17 Who said unto God, " Depart from us ! " 
And, " What can the Almighty do to us? " 

18 And yet he filled their houses with good things ! — 
Far from me be the counsel of the wicked ! 

19 The righteous see their fate, and rejoice ; 
And the innocent hold them in derision. 

20 '' Truly our adversary is destroyed, 
And fire hath consumed his abundance ! " 

21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace : 
Thus shall prosperity return to thee. 

22 Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth, 
And lay up his words in thy heart. 

23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up ; 
If thou put away iniquity from thy tent. 

24 Cast to the dust thy gold, 

And the gold of Ophir to the stones of the brook : 

25 Then shall the Almighty be thy gold, 
Yea, treasures of silver unto thee ; 

26 For then shalt thou have delight in the Almighty, 
And shalt lift up thy face unto God. 



70 JOB. [chap. xxm. 

27 Thou shalt pray to him, and he shall hear thee, 
And thou shalt perform thy vows. 

28 The purpose which thou formest shall prosper with thee, 
And light shall shine upon thy ways. 

29 When men are cast down, thou shalt say, ^' There is 

lifting up ! " 
And the humble person he will save. 

30 He will deliver even him that is not innocent. 
The pui'ity of thy hands shall save him. 



XVL 

Answer of Job. — Chap. XXIII., XXIV. 

1 Then Job answered and said : 

2 Still is my complaint bitter ; 

But my wound is deeper than my groaning. 

3 that I knew where I might find him ! 
That I might go before his throne ! 

4 I would order my cause before him, 
And fill my mouth with arguments ; 

5 I should know what he would answer me. 
And understand what he would say to me. 

6 Would he contend with me with his mighty power ? 
No ! he would have regard to me. 

7 Then would an upright man contend with him. 
And I should be fully acquitted by my judge. 

8 But, behold, I go eastward, and he is not there ; 
And westward, but I cannot perceive him ; 

9 To the north, where he worketh, but I cannot behold 

him ; 
He hideth himself on the south, and I cannot see him. 

10 But he knoweth the way which is in my heart ; 
When he trieth me, I shall come forth as goM. 

11 My feet have trodden in his steps ; 

His way I have kept, and have not turncJ asid^ froja 
it. 



CHAP. XXIV. J 



JOB. 71 



12 I have not neglected the precepts of his lips ; 

Above my own law have I esteemed the words of hia 
mouth. 

13 But he is of one mind, and who can turn him? 
And what he desireth, that he doeth. 

14 He performeth that which is appointed for me ; 
And many such things are in his mind ! 

15 Therefore I am in terror on account of him ; 
When I consider, I am afraid of him. 

16 For God maketh my heart faint ; 
Yea, the Almighty terrifieth me ; 

17 Because I was not taken away before darkness came, 
And he hath not hidden darkness from mine eyes. 

1 Whj are not times treasured up by the Almighty ? 
And why do not they who know him see his days ? 

2 They remove landmarks ; 

They take away flocks by violence, and pasture them. 

3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, 
And take the widow's ox for a pledge. 

4 They push the needy from the way ; 

All the poor of the land are forced to hide themselves. 
6 Behold, like wild asses of the desert, they go forth to their 
work; 
They search for prey ; 
The wilderness supplieth them food for their children. 

6 In the fields they reap the harvest, 

And gather the vintage of the oppressor. 

7 They lodge naked, without clothing, 
And without covering from the cold. 

8 They are drenched with the mountain showers, 
And embrace the rock for want of shelter. 

9 The fatherless are torn from the breast, 

And the garment of the needy is taken for a pledge. 

10 They go naked, without clothing. 
And carry the sheaf hungry. 

1 1 They make oil within their walls, 

And tread the wine-vat, yet suffer thirst. 



72 JOB. TcHAP. xxrv. 

12 From anguish the dying groan, 
And the wounded cry aloud ; 

And God regardeth not their prayer ! 

13 Others hate the light ; 
They know not its ways, 
And abide not in its paths. 

14 With the light ariseth the murderer ; 
He killeth the poor and needy ; 

In the night he is as a thief. 

15 The eye of the adulterer watcheth for the twilight ; 
He saith, '^ No eye will see me," 

And putteth a mask upon his face. 

16 In the dark they break into houses ; 

In the daytime they shut themselves up ; 
They are strangers to the light. 

17 The morning is to them the very shadow of death ; 
They are familiar with the terrors of the shadow of death, 

18 Light are they on the face of the waters ; 
They have an accursed portion in the earth ; 
They come not near the vineyards. 

19 As drought and heat consume the snow waters, 
So doth the grave the wicked. 

20 His own mother forgetteth him ; 
The worm feedeth sweetly on him ; 
He is no more remembered, 

And iniquity is broken like a tree. 

21 He oppresseth the barren, that hath not borne. 
And doeth not good to the widow. 

22 He taketh away the mighty by his power ; 
He riseth up, and no one is sure of life. 

23 God giveth them security, so that they are confident ; 
His eyes are upon their ways. 

24 They are exalted ; — in a little while they are gone ! 
They are brought low, and die, like all others ; 
And like the topmost ears of corn are they cut off. 

25 If it be not so, who will confute me, 
And show my discourse to be worthless ? 



CHAP. XXVI.] JOB. 



XVII. 



78 



Third speech of Bildad the Shuhite. — Chap. XXV. 

1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said : 

2 Dominion and fear are with Him ; 
He maintaineth peace in his high places. 

.3 Is there any numbering of his hosts ? 
And upon whom doth not his light arise ? 

4 How then can man be righteous before God ? 
Or how can he be pure that is born of woman ? 

5 Behold, even the moon, it shineth not ; 
And the stars are not pure in his sight. 

6 How much less, man, a worm ; 
And the son of man, a reptile ! 



XVIII. 

Answer of Job. — Chap. XXVI. 

1 Then Job answered and said : 

2 How hast thou helped the weak, 
And strengthened the feeble arm ! 

3 How hast thou counselled the ignorant, 
And revealed wisdom in fulness ! 

4 For whom hast thou uttered these words ? 
And whose spirit spake through thee ? 

5 Before Him the shades tremble 
Beneath the waters and their inhabitants. 

6 The under-world is naked before him. 
And destruction is without covering. 

7 He stretcheth out the north over empty space. 
And hangeth the earth upon nothing. 

8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds, 
And the cloud is not rent under them. 

9 He covereth the face of his throne, 
And spreadeth his clouds upon it. 

4 



74 JOB. [chap. xxvn. 

10 He hath drawn a circular bound upon the waters, 
To the confines of light and darkness. 

11 The pillars of heaven tremble 
And are confounded at his rebuke. 

12 By his power he stilleth the sea, 

Yea, by his wisdom he smiteth its pride. 

13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens ; 
His hand hath formed the fleeing Serj)ent. 

14 Lo I these are but the borders of his works ; 
How faint the whisper we have heard of him ! 
But the thunder of his power who can understand? 



XIX. 

Answer of Job to all three of his opponents. — Chap. XXVII., XXVIII. 

1 Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said : 

2 As God liveth, who hath rejected my cause, 
And the Almighty, who hath afflicted my soul ; 

3 As long as my breath is in me. 

And the spirit of God is in my nostrils, 

4 Never shall my lips speak falsehood. 
Nor my tongue utter deceit. 

5 God forbid that I should acknowledge you to be just : 
To my last breath will I assert my integrity. 

6 I will hold fast my innocence, and not let it go ; 
My heart reproacheth me for no part of my life. 

7 May mine enemy be as the wicked. 

And he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous ! 

8 For what is the hope of the wicked, when God cutteth off 

his web. 
And taketh away his life ? 

9 Will he listen to his cry. 
When trouble cometh upon him ? 

10 Can he delight himself in the Almighty, 
Ajid call at all times upon God ? 

11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God ; 
That which is with the Almighty I will not conceal. 



CHAP. XXVIII.] JOB. 75 

12 Behold, ye yourselves have all seen it ; 
Why then do ye cherish such vain thoughts ? 

13 This is the portion of the wicked man from God, — 

The inheritance which oppressors receive from the Al- 
mighty. 

14 If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword ; 
And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. 

15 Those of them that escape shall be buried by Death, 
And their widows shall not bewail them. 

16 Though he heap up silver as dust, 
And procure raiment as clay, — 

17 He may procure, but the righteous shall wear it, 
And the innocent shall share the silver. 

18 He buildeth his house like the moth, 

Or like the shed which the watchman maketh. 

19 The rich man lieth down, and is not buried; 
In the twinkling of an eye he is no more. 

20 Terrors pursue him like a flood ; 

A tempest stealeth him away in the night. 

21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he perisheth ; 
Yea, it sweepeth him away from his place. 

22 God sendeth his arrows at him, and doth not spare ; 
He would fain escape from His hand. 

23 Men clap their hands at him. 
And hiss him away from his place. 



Truly there is a vein for silver, 
And a place for gold, which men refine. 
Iron is obtained from earth, 
And stone is melted into copper. 
Man putteth an end to darkness ; 
He searcheth to the lowest depths 
For the stone of darkness and the shadow of death. 
From the place where they dwell they open a shaft ; 
Forgotten by the feet, 

They hang down, they swing away from men. 
The earth, out of which cometh bread. 
Is torn up underneath, as it were by fire. 
Her stones are the place of sapphires, 
And she hath clods of gold for man. 



76 JOB. [chap, xxviil 

7 The path thereto no bird knoweth, 
And the vulture's eye hath not seen it ; 

8 The fierce wild beast hath not trodden it ; 
The lion hath not passed over it. 

9 Man layeth his hand upon the rock ; 

He upturneth mountains from their roots ; 

10 He cleaveth out streams in the rocks, 
And his eye seeth every precious thing ; 

11 He bindeth up the streams, that they trickle not, 
And bringeth hidden things to light. 

12 But where shall wisdom be found ? 
And where is the place of understanding? 

13 Man knoweth not the price thereof, 

Nor can it be found in the land of the living. 

14 The deep saith, It is not in me ; 
And the sea saith, It is not with me. 

15 It cannot be gotten for gold, 

Nor shall silver be weighed out as the price thereof. 

16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, 
With the precious onyx or the sapphire. 

17 Gold and crystal are not to be compared with it ; 
Nor can it be purchased with jewels of fine gold. 

18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal ; 
For wisdom is more precious than pearls. 

19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, 
Nor can it be purchased with pure gold. 

20 Whence then cometh wisdom ? 

And where is the place of understanding ? 

21 Since it is hidden from the eyes of all living, 
. And kept close from the fowls of the air. 

22 Destruction and Death say, 

We have heard a rumor of it with our ears. 

23 God knoweth the way to it ; 
He knoweth its dwelling-place, 

24 For he seeth to the ends of the earth. 

And surveyeth all things under the whole heaven. 

25 When he gave the winds their weight, 
And meted out the waters by measure ; 



CHAP. XXIX ] JOB. 77 

26 When he prescribed a law to the rain, 
And a path to the thunderflash, — 

27 Then did he see it, and make it known ; 
He established it, and searched it out. 

28 But he said unto man, 

Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, 
And to depart from evil is understanding. 



XX. 

Job's review of his past life. — Chap. XXTX.-XXXT. 

1 Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said : 

2 that I were as in months past. 

In the days when God was my guardian ; 

3 When his lamp shined over my head, 

And when by his light I walked through darkness ! 

4 As I was in the autumn of my days, 

When the friendship of God was over my tent ; 
6 When the Almighty was yet with me, 
And my children were around me ; 

6 When I bathed my steps in milk, 

And the rock poured me out rivers of oil ! 

7 When I went forth to the gate by the city, 
And took my seat in the market-place, 

8 The young men saw me and hid themselves, 
And the ao;ed arose and stood. 

? The princes refrained from speaking. 

And laid their hand upon their mouth. 
10 The nobles held their peace. 

And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. 
n When the ear heard me, then it blessed me ; 

And when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me. 

12 For I delivered the poor, when they cried ; 
And the fatherless, who had none to help him. 

13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon 

me, 
And I caused the heart of the widow to sing for joy. 



78 JOB. [chap. XXX. 

14 I clothed myself with righteousness, and it clothed itself 

with me ; 
And justice was my robe and diadem. 

15 I was eyes to the blind, 
And feet was I to the lame ; 

16 I was a father to the poor. 

And the cause of him I knew not I searched out ; 

17 And I broke the teeth of the wicked, 
And plucked the spoil from his jaws. 

18 Then said I, " I shall die in my nest ; 
I shall multiply my days as the sand. 

19 My root is spread abroad to the waters, 
And the dew abide th on my branches. 

20 My glory is fresh with me, 

And my bow gathereth strength in my hand." 

21 To me men gave ear, and waited, 
And kept silence for my counsel. 

22 To my words they made no reply, 

When my speech dropped down upon them. 

23 Yea, they waited for me as for the rain ; 

They opened their mouths wide as for the latter rain. 

24 If I smiled upon them, they believed it not ; 

Nor did they cause the light of my countenance to fall. 

25 When I came among them, I sat as chief; 

I dwelt as a king in the midst of an army, — 
As a comforter among mourners. 

1 But now they that are younger than I hold me in de- 

rision, 
Whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the 
dogs of my flock. 

2 Of what use to me would be even the strength of their 
To whom old age is lost ? [hands, 

3 By want and hunger they are famished ; 
They gnaw the dry desert, 

The darkness of desolate wastes. 

4 They gather purslain among the bushes, 
And the root of the broom is their bread. 

6 They are driven from the society of men ; 
There is a cry after them as after a thief. 



CHAP. XXX.] JOB. «9 

n They dwell in gloomy valleys, 
In caves of the earth and in rocks. 

7 They bray among the bushes ; 

Under the brambles are they stretched out. 

8 An impious and low-born race, 
They are beaten out of the land. 

U And now I am become their song ; 
Yea, I am their by-word ! 

10 They abhor me, they stand aloof from me ; 
They forbear not to spit before my face. 

11 Yea, they let loose the reins, and humble me ; 
They cast off the bridle before me. 

12 On my right hand riseth up the brood ; 
They thrust away my feet ; 

They cast up against me their destructive ways. 

13 They break up my path ; 
They hasten my fall, — 
They who have no helper ! 

14 They come upon me as through a wide breach; 
Through the ruins they rush in upon me. 

15 Terrors are turned against me ; 

They pursue my prosperity like the wind, 
And my welfare passeth away like a cloud. 

16 And now my soul poureth itself out upon me ; 
Days of affliction have taken hold of me. 

17 By night my bones are pierced ; they are torn from me, 
And my gnawers take no rest. 

18 Through the violence of my disease is my garment changed ; 
It bindeth me about like the collar of my tunic. 

19 He hath cast me into the mire. 

And I am become like dust and ashes. 

20 I call upon Thee, but thou dost not hear me ; 

I stand up before thee, but thou regardest me not. 

21 Tliou art become cruel to me ; 

With thy strong hand dost thou lie in wait for me. 

22 Thou liftest me up, and causest me to ride upon the 

wind ; * 

Thou meltest me away in the storm. 

23 I know that thou wilt bring me to death, 
To the T>lace of assembly for all the living. 



80 JOB. [chap, xxxl 

24 ^Yhen He stretcheth out his hand, prayer availeth nothing ; 
When He bringeth destruction, vain is the cry for help. 

25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble ? 
Was not my soul grieved for the poor ? 

26 But when I looked for good, then evil came ; 
When I looked for light, then came darkness. 

27 My bowels boil, and have no rest ; 
Days of anguish have come upon me. 

28 I am black, but not by the sun ; 

I stand up, and utter my cries in the congregation. 

29 I am become a brother to jackals, 
And a companion to ostriches. 

30 My skin is black, and falleth from me, 
And my bones burn with heat. 

31 My harp also is turned to mourning, 
And my pipe to notes of grief. 

1 I made a covenant with mine eyes ; 
How then could I gaze upon a maid ? 

2 For what is the portion appointed by God from above, 
And the inheritance allotted by the Almighty from on 

3 Is not destruction for the wicked, [high ? 
And ruin for the workers of iniquity ? 

4 Doth He not see my ways. 
And number all my steps ? 

5 If I have walked with falsehood. 
And if my foot hath hasted to deceit, 

6 Let him weigh me in an even balance ; 
Yea, let God know my integrity ! 

7 If my steps have turned aside from the way, 
And my heart gone after mine eyes. 

Or if any stain hath cleaved to my hand, 

8 Then I may sow, and another eat ; 
And what I plant, may it be rooted up ! 

9 If my heart hath been enticed by a woman. 
Or if I have watched at my neighbor's door, 

10 Then let my wife grind for another. 
And let other men lie with her ! 

11 For this were a heinous crime, 

Even a transgression to be punished by the judges ; 



CHAP. XXXI.] JOB. 81 

12 Yea, it were a fire that would co^Asume to destruction, 
And root out all my increase. 

13 If I have refused justice to my man-servant or maid- 

servant, 
When they had a controversy with me, 

14 Then what shall I do when God riseth up ? 
And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him ? 

15 Did not He that made me in the womb make him ? 
Did not one fashion us in the womb ? 

16 If I have refused the poor their desire, 
And caused the eyes of the widow to fail; 

17 If I have eaten my morsel alone. 

And the fatherless hath not partaken of it ; 

18 (Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a 

father, 
And I have helped the widow from my mother's womb ;) 

19 If I have seen any one perishing for want of clothing, 
Or any poor man without covering ; 

20 If his loins have not blessed me. 

And he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep ; 

21 If I have shaken my hand against the fatherless, 
Because I saw my help in the gate, — 

22 Then may my shoulder fall from its blade, 
And my fore-arm be broken from its bone I 

23 For destruction from God was s> terror to me, 
And before his majesty I could do nothing. 

24 If I have made gold my trust, 

Oi- said to the fine gold. Thou art my confidence ; 

25 If I have rejoiced, because my wealth was great. 
And my hand had found abundance ; 

26 If I have beheld the sun in his splendor, 
Or the moon advancing in brightness, 

27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, 
And my mouth hath kissed my hand, — 

28 This also were a crime to be punished by the judge ; 
For I should have denied the God who is above. 

29 If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me. 
And exulted when evil came upon him : 

4* 



82 JOB. [chap. xxxn. 

30 (Nay, I have not suffered my mouth to sin, 
By asking with curses his hfe ;) 

31 If the men of my tent have not exclaimed, 

" Who is there that hath not been satisfied with his meat ? " 

32 The stranger did not lodge in the street ; 

I opened my doors to the traveller. -- [sion, 

33 Have I, after the manner of men, hidden my transgres- 
Concealing my iniquity in my bosom, 

34 Then let me be confounded before the great multitude ! 
Let the contempt of fimilies cover me with shame ! 
Yea, let me keep nilence ! let me never appear abroad ! 

35 O that there were one wlio would hear me ! 
Behold my signature ! let the Almighty answer me. 
And let mine adversary write down his charge ! 

36 Truly I would wear it upon my shoulder ; 
I would bind it upon me as a crown. 

37 I would disclose to him all my steps ; 
I would approach him like a prince. 

38 If my land cry out against me, 
And its furrows bewail together ; 

39 If I have eaten of its fruits without payment, 
And wrung out the life of its owners, — 

40 Let thorns grow up instead of wheat. 
And noxious weeds instead of barley. 

The words of Job are ended. 



XXL 

Speech of Elihu. — Chap. XXXII.-XXXVII. 

1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he 

2 was righteous in his own eyes. Then was kindled the 
wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the 
family of Ram ; against Job was his wrath kindled, be- 
cause he accounted himself righteous rather than God. 

3 Against his three friends also was his wrath kindled, be- 
cause they ha4 not found an answer, and yet had con- 



CHAP. XXXII ] JOB. 83 

4 demnecl Job. Now Elihu had delayed to reply to Job, 

5 because they were older than himself. But when Elihu 
saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three 

6 men, his wrath was kindled. Then spake Elihu, the son 
of Barachel, the Buzite, and said : 

I am young, and ye are very old ; 
Therefore I was afraid, 
And durst not make known to you my opinion. 

7 I said, *' Days should speak. 

And the multitude of years should teach wisdom." 

8 But it is the spirit in man. 

Even the inspiration of the Almighty, that giveth him un- 
derstanding. 

9 Great men are not always wise. 

Nor do the aged always understand what is right. 

10 Therefore, I pray, listen to me : 
I also will declare my opinion. 

11 Behold, I have waited for your words, 
I have listened to your arguments. 
Whilst ye searched out what to say ; 

12 Yea, I have attended to you ; 

And behold, none of you hath refuted Job, 
Nor answered his words. 

13 Say not, then, '' We have found out wisdom ; 
God must conquer him, not man." 

14 He hath not directed his discourse against me, 

And with speeches like yours will I not answer him. 

15 They were confounded ! they answered no more ! 
They could say nothing ! 

16 I waited, but they spake not ; 

They stood still ; they answered no more ! 

17 Therefore will I answer, on my part ; 
I also will show my opinion. 

18 For 1 am full of matter ; 

The spirit > within me constraineth me. 

19 Behold, my bosom is as wine that hath no vent ; 
Like bottles of new wine, wdiich are bursting. 

20 I will speak, that I may be relieved ; 
1 will open my lips and answer. 



84 JOB. [chap, xxxiu 

21 I will not be partial to any man's person, 
Nor will I flatter any man. 

22 For I know not how to flatter ; 

Soon would my Maker take me away. 

1 Hear, therefore, my discourse, I pray thee, O Job 
And attend unto all my words ! 

2 Behold, I am opening my mouth ; 

My tongue is now speaking in my palate. 

3 My words shall be in the uprightness of my heart; 
My lips shall utter knowledge purely. 

4 The spirit of God made me, 

And the breath of the Almighty gave me life. 

5 If thou art able, answer me ; 

Set thyself in array against me ; stand up ! 

6 Behold, I, like thee, am a creature of God ; 
I also was formed of clay. 

7 Behold, my terror cannot dismay thee, 
Nor can my greatness be heavy upon thee. 

8 Surely thou hast said in my hearing, 
I have heard the sound of thy words : 

9 " I am pure, and without transgression ; 

I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me. 

10 Behold, He seeketh causes of hostility against me ; 
He regardeth me as his enemy. 

11 He putteth my feet in the stocks ; 
He watcheth all my paths." 

12 Behold, in this thou art not right ; I will answer thee ; 
For God is greater than man. 

13 Why dost thou contend with Him ? 

For he giveth no account of any of his doings. 

14 For God speaketh once, 

Yea, twice, when man regardeth it not. 

15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, 
When deep sleep falleth upon men, 
In slumber upon the bed ; 

16 Then openeth he the ears of men, 
And scale th up for them admonition ; 

17 Tliat he may turn man from his purpose, 
And hide pride from man. 



CHAP. XXXIY.] JOB. bo 

18 Thus he saveth him from the pit. 

Yea. his life from perishing by the sword. 

19 He is chastened also with pain upon his bed. 
And with a continual agitation of his bones, 

20 So that his mouth abhorreth bread, 
And his taste the choicest food ; 

21 His flesh is consumed, that it cannot be seen, 
And his bones, that were invisible, are naked ; 

22 Yea. his soul draweth near to the pit, 
And his life to the destroyers. 

23 But if there be with him a messenger. 
An interpreter, one of a thousand, 
TTho may show unto man his duty, 

24 Then will God be gracious to him, and say, 
^- Save him from going down to the pit : 

I have found a ransom." 

25 His flesh shall became fresher than a child's ; 
He shall return to the days of his youth. 

26 He shall pray to God, and he will be favorable to him, 
And permit him to see his face with joy, 

And restore unto man his righteousness. 

27 He shall sing among men. and say, 
'• I sinned ; I acted perversely ; 
Yet hath he not requited me for it : 

28 He hath delivered me from going down to the pit, 
And my life beholdeth the light." 

29 Lo ! all these things doeth God 
Time after time with man. 

30 That he may bring him back from the pit. 
That he may enjoy the light of the living. 

31 Mark well, Job ! hearken to me ! 
Keep silence, and I will speak. 

32 Yet ii thou hast any thing to say, answer me ! 
Speak ! for I desire to pronounce thee innocent. 

33 But if not, do thou listen to me I 

Keep silence, and I will teach thee wisdom ! 

1 And Elihu proceeded, and said : 



8B JOB. [chap, xxxrv. 

2 Hear my words, ye wise men ! 

Give ear to me, ye that have knowledge ! 

3 For the ear trieth words. 
As the mouth tasteth meat. 

4 Let us examine for ourselves what is right ; 
Let us know among ourselves what is true. 

5 Job hath said, " I am righteous, 
And God refuseth me justice. 

6 Though I am innocent, I am made a liar ; 

My wound is incurable, though I am free from transgres- 
sion." 

7 Where is the man like Job, 
Who drinketh impiety like water ; 

8 Who goeth in company with evil-doers, 
And walketh with wicked men ? 

9 For he hath said, '' A man hath no advantage, 
When he delighteth himself in God." 

10 Wherefore hearken to me, ye men of understand'ng ! 
Far be iniquity from God ; 

Yea, far be injustice from the Almighty ! 

11 For what a man hath done he will requite him, 
And render to every one according to his deeds. 

12 Surely God will not do iniquity. 

Nor will the Almighty pervert justice. 

13 Who hath given him the charge of the earth? 
Or who hath created the whole world ? 

H Should he set his heart against man, 

Shoukl he take back his spirit and his breath, 

15 Then would all flesh expire together ; 
Yea, man would return to the dust. 

16 If thou hast understanding, hear this ! 
Give ear to the voice of my words ! 

17 Shall he, that hateth justice, govern ? 

Wilt thou then condemn the just and mighty One? 

18 Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked ; 
Or to princes, Ye are unrighteous ? 

19 How much less to him that is not partial to princes, 
Nor regardeth the rich more than the poor ? 

For they are all the work of his hands. 



CflAP. XXXIV.] JOB. 87 

20 In a moment they die ; yea, at midnight 
Do the people stagger and pass away, 

And the mighty are destroyed without hand. 

21 For his eyes are upon the ways of man ; 
He seeth all his steps. 

22 There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, 
Where evil-doers may hide themselves. 

23 He needeth not attend long to a man, 
That he may go into judgment before God ; 

24 He dasheth in pieces the mighty without inquiry, 
And setteth up others in their stead. 

25 Therefore he knoweth their works, 

And in a night he overthroweth them, so that they are 
destroyed. 

26 On account of their wickedness he smite th them. 
In the presence of many beholders ; 

27 Because they turned away from him, 
And had no regard to his ways, 

28 And caused the cry of the poor to come before him ; 
For he heareth the cry of the oppressed. 

29 When he giveth rest, who can cause trouble ? 
And when he hideth his face, 

Who can behold him ? 

30 So is it with nations and individuals alike ! 
That the wicked may no more rule. 

And may not be snares to the people. 

31 Surely thou shouldst say unto God, 

" I have received chastisement ; I will no more offend ; 

32 What I see not, teach thou me ! 

If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more." 

33 Shall he recompense according to thy mind. 

Because thou refusest, or because thou choosest, an J not 

he? 
Speak, if thou hast knowledge ! 

34 Men of understanding. 

Wise men, who hear me, will say, 

35 " Job hath spoken without knowledge, 
And his words are without wisdom." 

36 I desire that Job may be tried to the last. 
For answerinfi^ like wicked men. 



88 JOB. [chap, xxxvl 

37 For he addeth impiety to his sin ; 
He clappeth his hands among us, 
And multiplieth words against God. 

1 Moreover Elihu proceeded, and said : 

2 Dost thon then think thin to be right ? 

Thou hast said, " I am more righteous than God." 

3 For thou askest, " What advantage have I ? 
What have I gained, more than if I had sinned ? " 

4 I will answer thee. 

And thy companions with thee. 

6 Look up to the heaven*, and see I 

And behold the clouds, which are high above thee ! 

6 If thou sinnest, what doest thou against Him ? [him ? 
If thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou to 

7 If thou art righteous, what dost thou give him ? 
Or what receiveth he at thy hand ? 

8 Thy wickedness injufeth only a man like thyself, 
And thy righteousness profiteth only a son of man. 

9 The oppressed cry out on account of the multitude of 

wrongs ; 
They cry aloud on account of the arm of the mighty. 

10 But none saith, '' Where is God, my Maker, 
Who giveth songs in the night ; 

11 AVho teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, 
And maketh us wiser than the birds of heaven ? " 

12 There they cry aloud on account of the pride of the 
But he giveth no answer. [wicked ; 

13 For God will not hear the vain supplication, 
Nor will the Almighty regard it ; 

x4^ Much less when thou sayest thou canst not see him : 
Justice is with him, — only wait thou for him ! 

15 But now, because he hath not visited in his anger, 
Nor taken strict note of transgression, 

16 Therefore hath Job opened his mouth rashly, 
And multiplied words without knowledge. 

1 Elihu also proceeded, and said : 



CHAP. XXXVI.] JOB. 89 

2 Bear with me a little while, that I may show thee ! 
For I have yet words in behalf of God. 

3 I will bring my knowledge from afar, 
And assert the justice of my Maker. 

4 Truly my words shall not be false : 

A man of sound knowledge is before thee. 

5 Behold, God is great, but despiseth not any ; 
Great is he in strength of understanding. 

6 He suffereth not the wicked to prosper, 
But rendereth justice to the oppressed. 

7 He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous ; 

But establisheth them for ever with kings on the throne, 
That they may be exalted. 

8 And if they be bound in fetters, 
And holuen in the cords of affliction, 

9 Then showeth he them their deeds. 

And how they have set him at defiance by their transgres- 
sions ; 

10 He also openeth their ears to admonition. 
And commandeth them to return from iniquity. 

11 If they obey and serve him. 

They spend their days in prosperity, 
And their years in pleasures. 

12 But if they obey not, they perish by the sword ; 
They die in their own folly. 

13 The corrupt in heart treasure up wrath ; 
They cry not to God, when he bindeth them. 

14 They die in their youth ; 

They close their lives with the unclean. 

15 But he delivereth the poor in their distress ; 
He openeth their ears in affliction. 

16 He will bring thee also from the jaws of distress 
To a broad place, where is no straitness ; 

And the provision of thy table shall be full of fatness. 

17 But if thou art full of the judgment of the wicked, 
Judgment and justice shall take hold of thee. 

18 For if wrath be with him, beware lest he take thee away 

by his stroke. 
So that a great ransom shall not save thee ^ 



90 JOB. [chap. xxx\ai. 

19 Will he esteem thy riches ? 

No ! neither thy gold, nor all the abundance of thy wealth. 

20 Long not thou for that night 

To which nations are taken away from their place. 

21 Take heed, turn not thine eyes to iniquity ! 
For this hast thou chosen rather than affliction. 

22 Behold, God is exalted in his power : 
Who is a teacher like him ? 

23 Who hath prescribed to him his way ? 

Or who can say to him, " Thou hast done wrong " ? 

24 Forget not to magnify his work, 
Which men celebrate with songs. 

25 All mankind gaze upon it ; 
Mortals behold it from afar. 

26 Behold, God is great ; we cannot know him, 
Nor search out the number of his years. 

27 Lo ! he draweth up the drops of water, 
Which distil rain from his vapor ; 

28 The clouds pour it down, 

And drop it upon man in abundance. 

29 Who can understand the spreading of his clouds, 
And the rattling of his pavilion ? 

30 Behold, he spreadeth around himself his light, 
And he clotheth himself with the depths of the sea. 

31 By these he punisheth nations, 

And by these he giveth food in abundance. 

32 His hands he covereth with lightning ; 

He giveth it commandment against an enemy. 
83 His thunder maketh him known ; 

Yea, to the herds, as he ascendeth on high. 

1 At this my heart trembleth. 
And leapeth out of its place. 

2 Hear, O hear, the thunder of his voice, 

And the noise which goeth forth from his mouth ! 

3 He directeth it under the whole heaven, 
And his lightning to the ends of the earth. 

4 After it the thunder roareth ; 

He thundereth with his voice of majesty, 

And restraineth it not, when his voice is heard. 



CHAl'. XXXVII ] JOB. 91 

5 God thundereth with his voice maryelloiisly ; 

Great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. 

6 For he saith to the snow, " Be thou on the earth ! " 
To the shower also, even the showers of his might. 

7 He sealeth up the hand of every man, 

That all men whom he hath made may acknowledge him. 

8 Then the beasts go into dens, 
And abide in their caverns. 

9 Out of the south cometh the whirlwind, 
And cold out of the north. 

10 By the breath of God ice is formed, 
And the broad waters become narrow. 

11 Yea, with moisture he burdeneth the clouds ; 
He spreadeth abroad his lightning-clouds. 

12 They move about by his direction, 

To execute all his commands throughout the world ; 

13 Whether he cause them to come for punishment, 
Or for the land, or for mercy. 

14 Give ear to this, Job ! 

Stand still, and consider the wondrous works ofj^rod! 

15 Dost thou know when God gave commandment to them, 
And caused the lightning of his cloud to flash ? 

16 Dost thou understand the balancing of the clouds, 

The wondrous works of Him that is perfect in knowledge ? 

17 How thy garments become warm. 

When he maketh the earth still by the south wind ? 

18 Canst thou like him spread out the sky, 
Which is firm like a molten mirror ? 

19 Teach us what we shall say to him ! 

For we cannot set in order our words by reason of dark- 
ness. 

20 Shall it be told him that I would speak ? 
Shall a man speak, that he may be consumed ? 

21 For now men do not look upon the light. 
When it is bright in the skies. 

When the wind hath passed over them, and made theni 
clear. 

22 From the north cometh gold ; 
But with God is terrible majesty 1 



92 JOB. [chap, xxxvni. 

23 The Almighty, we cannot find him out ; 
Great is he in power and justice, 

Abundant in righteousness ; he doth not oppress. 

24 Therefore let men fear him ! 

Upon none of the wise in heart will he look. 



XXII. 

Jehovah's reproof of Job. — Chap. XXXVIII., XXXIX. 

1 Then spake Jehovah to Job out of the whirlwind, and 

said: 

2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without 

knowledge ? 

3 Gird up thy loins like a man ! 

I will ask thee, and answer thou me ! • 

4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the 

earth ? 
Declaire, if thou hast understanding ! 

5 Who fixed its dimensions, that thou shouldst know it I 
Or who stretched out the line upon it ? 

6 Upon what were its foundations fixed ? 
And who laid its corner-stone, 

7 When the morning stars sang together, 
And all the sons of God shouted for joy ? 

8 And who shut up the sea with doors, 
When it burst forth as from the womb ? 

9 When I made the clouds its mantle, 
And thick darkness its swaddling-band ; 

10 When I appointed for it my bound. 
And fixed for it bars and doors ; 

11 And said, Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther, 
And here shall thy proud waves be stayed ! 

12 Hast thou, in thy life, given charge to the morning, 
Or caused the day-spring to know its place, 

13 That it should lay hold of the ends of the earth, 
And shake the wicked out of it ? 



CHAP. XXXVIII ] JOB. 93 

14 It is changed as clay by the seal ; 

And all things stand forth as in rich apparel. 

15 But from the wicked their light is withheld, 
And the high-raised arm is broken. 

16 Hast thou visited the springs of the sea, 
And walked through the recesses of the deep ? 

17 Have the gates of death been disclosed to thee, 

And hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death ? 

18 Hast thou surveyed the breadth of the earth ? 
Declare, if thou knowest it all ! 

19 Where is the way to the abode of light ? 
And darkness — where is its dwelling-place ? 

20 That thou shouldst lead it to its boundary, 

And that thou shouldst know the paths to its mansion ! 

21 Surely thou knowest ; for thou wast then born ! 
And the number of thy years is great ! 

22 Hast thou visited the storehouses of the snow, 
Or seen the treasuries of the hail, 

23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, — 
Against the day of battle and war ? 

24 What is the way to where light is distributed, 
And the east wind spread abroad upon the earth ? 

25 Who hath prepared channels for the rain, 
And a path for the thunder-flash, 

26 To give rain to the land without an inhabitant, 
To the wilderness wherein is no man ; 

27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground. 
And cause the tender herb to spring forth ? 

28 Hath the rain a father ? 

Or who hath begotten the drops of the dew ? 
• 29 Out of whose womb came the ice ? 

And who hath gendered the hoar-frost of heaven? 

30 The waters are hid as under stone. 
And the face of the deep becometh solid. 

31 Canst thou fasten the bands of the Pleiads, 
Or loosen the chains of Orion ? 



94 JOB. [chap. XXXIX, 

32 Canst thou lead forth the Signs in their season, 
Or guide the Bear with her sons ? 

33 Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens ? 
Hast thou appointed their dominion over the earth? 

34 Canst thou hft up thy voice to the clouds, 

So that abundance of waters will cover thee ? 

35 Canst thou send forth lightnings, so that they will go. 
And say to thee, " Here we are " ? 

36 Who hath put understanding in the reins, 
And given intelligence to the mind ? 

37 Who numbereth the clouds in wisdom ? 
And who poureth out the bottles of heaven, 

38 When the dust floweth into a molten mass. 
And the clods cleave fast together ? 

39 Canst thou hunt prey for the lioness. 
Or satisfy the hunger of the young lions, 

40 Wlien they couch in their dens, 
And lie in wait in the thicket ? 

41 Who provideth for the raven his food, 
When his young ones cry unto God, 
While they wander about without food ? 

1 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock 

bring forth? 
Or canst thou observe when the hinds are in labor? 

2 Canst thou number the months they fulfil, 
And know the season when they bring forth ? 

3 Tliey bow themselves ; they bring forth their young ; 
They cast forth their pains. 

4 Their young ones are strong ; they grow up in the fields ; 
They go away, and return not to them. 

5 Who hath sent forth the wild ass free ? 
Who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass, 

6 To whom I have given the wilderness for his house, 
And the barren land for his dwelling-place ? 

7 He scorneth the tumult of the city, 

And heedeth not the shouting of the driver ; 

8 The range of the mountains is his pasture ; ^ 
He seeketh after every green thing. 



CHAP. XXXIX.] JOB. 95 

9 Will the wild-ox consent to serve thee ? 
Will he pass the night at thy crib ? 

10 Canst thou bind the wild-ox with the harness to the fiir- 

row? 
Or will he harrow the valleys after thee? 

11 Wilt thou rely upon him because his strength is great, 
And commit to him thy labor ? 

12 Wilt thou trust him to bring home thy grain, 
And gather in thy harvest ? 

13 The wing of the ostrich moveth joyfully ; 
But is it with loving pinion and feathers ? 

14 Nay, she layeth her eggs on the ground ; 
She warmeth them in the dust, 

15 And forge tteth that the foot may crush them, 
And that the wild beast may break them. 

16 She is cruel to her young, as if they were not hers ; 
Her labor is in vain, yet she feareth not ; 

17 Because God hath denied her wisdom. 
And hath not given her understanding. 

18 Yet when she lasheth herself up on high, 
She laugheth at the horse and his rider. 

19 Hast thou given the horse strength ? 

Hast thou clothed his neck with his trembling mane ? 

20 Hast thou taught him to bound like the locust ? 
How majestic his snorting ! how terrible ! 

21 He paweth in the valley ; he exulteth in his strength, 
And rusheth into the midst of arms. 

22 He laugheth at fear ; he trembleth not, 
And turneth not back from the sword. 

23 Against him rattle the quiver, 
The flaming spear, and the lance. 

24 With rage and fury he devoureth the ground ; 
He will not believe that the trumpet soundeth. 

25 At every blast of the trumpet, he saith, Aha ! 
And snuffeth the battle afar off, — 

The thunder of the captains, and the war-shout, 

26 Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk flieth, 
And spreadeth his wings toward the south ? 



96 JOB. [chap, xi^ 

27 Doth the eagle soar at thy command, 
And build his nest on high ? 

28 He dwelleth and lodgeth upon the rock, 
Upon the peak of the rock, and the stronghold. 

29 From thence he spieth out prey; 
His eyes discern it from afar. 

30 His young ones suck up blood ; 
And where the slain are, there is he. 



XXIIL 

Jehovah's question and Job's reply. — Chap. XL. 1-5. 

1 Moreover Jehovah spake to Job, and said : 

2 Will the censurer of the Almighty contend with him ? 
Will the reprover of God answer ? 

3 Then Job answered Jehovah, and said : 

4 Behold, I am vile ! what can I answer thee ? 
I will lay my hand upon my mouth. 

6 Once have I spoken, but I will not speak again ; 
Yea, twice, but 1 will say no more. 

XXIV. 

Jehovah's continued reproof of Job. — Chap. XL. 6-XLL 

6 Then spake Jehovah to Job out of the whirlwind, and 

said: 

7 Gird up now thy loins like a man ! 

I will ask thee, and do thou instruct me ! 

8 Wilt thou even disannul my right? 

Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayst be righteous ? 

9 Hast thou an arm like God's ? 

Or canst thou thunder with thy voice like him ? 
10 Deck thyself with grandeur and majesty. 
And array thyself in splendor and glory ! 



CHAP. XLI.] JOB. 97 

11 Send forth the fury of thy wrath ! 

Look upon every proud one, and abase him ! 

12 Look upon every proud one, and bring him low ; 
Yea, tread down the wicked in their place ! 

13 Hide them in the dust together ; 
Shut up their faces in darkness ! 

14 Then, indeed, will I give thee the praise, 
That thine own right hand can save thee. 

15 Behold the river-horse, which I have made as well as 
He feedeth on grass like the ox. [thyself; 

16 Behold, what strength is in his loins ! 

And what force in the muscles of his belly ! 

17 He bandeth his tail, like the cedar. 

And the sinews of his thighs are twisted together. 

18 His bones are pipes of brass. 
And his limbs are bars of iron. 

19 He is chief among the works of God ; 
He that made him gave him his sword. 

20 For the mountains supply him with food, 
Where all the beasts of the field play. 

21 He lieth down under the lote-plants, 
In the covert of reeds, and in the fens. 

22 The lote-plants cover him with their shadow, 
And the willows of the brook compass him about. 

23 Lo ! the stream overfloweth, but he starteth not ; 

He is unmoved though Jordan rush forth even to his 
mouth. 

24 Can one take him before his eyes, 
Or pierce his nose with hooks ? 

1 Canst thou draw forth the crocodile with a hook. 
Or press down his tongue with a cord ? 

2 Canst thou put a rope into his nose, 
Or pierce his cheek with a hook ? 

3 Will he make many entreaties to thee ? 
Will he speak soft words to thee ? 

4 Will he make a covenant with thee ? 
Canst thou take him for a servant for ever? 

6 Canst thou play with him, as with a bird ? 
Or canst thou bind him for thy maidens ? 

6 



98 JOB. [chap. XIX 

6 Do men in company lay snares for him ? 
Do they divide him among the merchants ? 

7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons, 
Or his head with fish-spears ? 

8 Do but lay thy hand upon him, — 
Thou wilt no more think of battle ! 



9 Behold, his hope is vain ! 

Is he not cast down at the very sight of him ? 

10 None is so fierce that he dare stir him up ; 
Who then is he that can stand before me ? 

11 Who hath done me a favor, that I must repay him ? 
Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. 



12 I will not be silent concerning his limbs, 
And his strength, and the beauty of his armor. 

13 Who can uncover the surface of his garment? 
Who will approach his jaws ? 

14 Who will open the doors of his face ? 
The rows of his teeth are terrible ! 

15 His glory is his strong shields, 

United with each other, as with a close seal. 

16 They are joined one to another. 

So that no air can come between them. 

17 They cleave fast to each other, 

They hold together, and cannot be separated. 

18 His sneezing sendeth forth light. 

And his eyes are like the eyelashes of the morning, 

19 Out of his mouth go flames. 
And sparks of fire leap forth. 

20 From his nostrils issueth smoke, as from a heated pot, or 

caldron. 

21 His breath kindleth coals, 

And flames issue from his mouth. 

22 In his neck dwelleth strength. 
And terror danceth before him. 

23 The flakes of his flesh cleave fast together ; 
They are firm upon him, and cannot be moved. 

24 His heart is solid like a stone ; 
Yea, solid like the nether miUstone. 



CHAP. XLII.] JOB. 99 

25 When he riseth up, the mighty are afraid; 
Yea, they lose themselves for terror. 

26 The sword of him that assaileth him doth not staad. 
The spear, the dart, nor the habergeon. 

27 He regardeth iron as straw. 
And brass as rotten wood. 

28 The arrow cannot make him flee ; 
Sling-stones to him become stubble ; 

29 Clubs are accounted by him as straw ; 
He laugheth at the shaking of the spear. 

30 Under him are sharp potsherds ; 

He spreadeth out a thrashing-sledge upon the mire. 

31 He maketh the deep to boil like a caldron ; 
He maketh the sea like a pot of ointment. 

32 Behind him he leaveth a shining path ; 
One would think the deep to be hoary. 

33 Upon the earth there is not his master ; 
He is made without fear. 

34 He looketh down upon all that is high ; 
He is king over all the sons of pride. 



XXV. 

Job's entire submission to Jehovah. — Chap. XLII. 1-6. 
Then Job answered Jehovah, and said : 

I know that thou canst do every thing. 
And that no purpose of thine can be hindered. 
Who is he that darkeneth counsel by words withou 

knowledge ? 
Thus have I uttered what I understood not ; 
Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not : • 
Hear thou, then, I beseech thee, and I will speak ! 
I will ask thee, and do thou instruct me ! 
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; 
But now hath mine eye seen thee. 
Wherefore I abhor myself, 
And repent in dust and ashes. 



100 JOB. [chap. XLlt 



XXVI. 

Jehovah's vindication of Job, and the happy issue of his trials. 
Chap. XLII. 7-17. 

7 And when Jehovah had spoken these words unto Job, 
he said to Eliphaz the Temanite : " My wrath is kindled 
against thee, and against thy two friends ; for ye have not 
spoken concerning me that which is right, as hath my ser- 

8 vant Job. Take ye, therefore, seven bullocks and seven 
rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer for yourselves 
a burnt-offering, and my servant Job shall pray for you ; 
for to him alone will I have regard ; that I deal not with 
you according to your folly. For ye have not spoken 
concerning me that which is right, as hath my servant 
Job." 

9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and 
Zophar the Naamathite, went and did as Jehovah com- 

10 manded them ; and Jehovah had regard to Job. And Je- 
hovah turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his 
friends, and Jehovah gave him twice as much as he had 

11 before. Then came to him all his brethren, and all his 
sisters, and all his former acquaintances, and ate bread 
with him in his house ; and condoled with him, and com- 
forted him over all the evil which Jehovah had brought 
upon him ; and every one gave him a piece of money [a 
kesita], and every one a ring of gold. 

12 Thus Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than 
the beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six 
thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand 

13 she-asses. He had also seven sons, and three daughters. 

14 And he called the name of the first Jemima, of the second 

15 Kezia, and of the third Kerenhappuch. And in all the 
land were no women found so fair as the daughters of 
Job ; and their father gave them an inheritance among 

16 their brethren. And Job lived after this a hundred and 
forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four 

17 generations. Then Job died, being old and satisfied with 
days. 



ECCLESIASTES 



INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES. 



Few books of the Old Testament have given rise to greater 
diversities of opinion than that which is called Ecclesiastes, or the 
Preacher. In regard to its form and its spirit, its subject and 
its meaning, its scope and design, its age and author, widely dif- 
ferent opinions have been entertained, and defended with confi- 
dence and ingenuity. By different critics the author has been 
regarded as an Epicurean, a Sadducee, a sceptic, a fatalist. By 
others his chief aim is supposed to be to prove and maintain the 
doctrines of the immortality of the human soul, and a future state 
of retribution. Some of the ancient Jews, according to St. Je- 
rome, entertained objections against this book, saying, that, ** as 
some books, which Solomon wrote, had been lost, this too ought 
to be obliterated ; because it asserted that the creatures' of God 
are vain, and regarded all things as worthless, and preferred meat 
and drink and delicacies to every thing else ; yet they said that 
the twelfth chapter alone, which summed up all he had written 
in the precept to fear God and keep his commandments, gave it a 
sufficient claim to be placed among the sacred books." * So in 
the Talmud we read, ** Some of the wise men desired to hide, 
ti33b, that is, to forbid the public reading of, the book Coheleth, 
because there were found in it words tending to heresy." f Others, 
because his language was contradictory. 

* See Comment, on Eccles. xii. 13, Jerome's Works, vol. ii. p. 787, edit. 
Martianay. 

t See Pesikta Rabbati, fol. 33, c. 1; Midrash, Cohel., fol. 311, c. 1; Ya- 
jikra Rab., § 28, fol. 161, c. 2; Tr. Schabb., fol. 30, c. 2. 

[103] 



104 INTRODUCTION TO 

A consideration of the objections which have been made to the 
book in ancient and modern times, and of the apparent contradic- 
tions which perplex the reader, seems to be demanded as a part of 
the introduction to this book. 

In regard to the class of composition to which the book belongs, 
it seems to come nearest to what, in modern times, would be called 
an ethical or moral essay. I do not, with some writers, regard it 
as a poem, though parts of it run into the region of poetry, and 
have a degree of rhythm in the construction. It is, however, 
written with the freedom of poetry, without regard to logical con- 
nection of thought, and without any strict and regular plan kept 
in view throughout. Not that the work is wholly destitute cf 
method. There is, at any rate, a unity of subject pervading it 
from beginning to end ; interrupted, it is true, but not destroyed, 
by digressions and the introduction of moral maxims. The au- 
thor evidently throws out freely the thoughts which occur to him 
on a general subject, rather than undertakes to prove any particu- 
lar point, or to accomplish any precise plan, to which all the parts 
should have a definite and intimate relation. 

If I were to express the subject of the work in a single sentence, 
which might serve as a titlepage to it, I should call it '* Thoughts 

ON THE VANITY OF HUMAN UFE, INTERSPERSED WITH SUCH MAX- 
IMS OF PRUDENCE, VIRTUE, AND RELIGION AS WILL HELP A MAN 
TO CONDUCT HIMSELF IN THE BEST MANNER, AND TO OBTAIN THE 
GREATEST AMOUNT OF HAPPINESS, IN HIS JOURNEY THROUGH IT." 

The main doctrine, or speculative view, of the author is the vanity 
of human things, that is, of human striving, and of human fortunes 
and experiences ; and his most prominent practical precept is, that 
men should enjoy the present blessings of life as they come, with- 
out anxiety and over-strenuous exertions relating to distant and 
future good. But there are many observations, and many practi- 
cal precepts of prudence, virtue, and religion, scattered through 
the work, as having an independent value, and not having a par- 
ticular and obvious relation to any general plan or design of the 
author. 

In regard to the objectionable sentiments and inconsistencies 
which have been charged upon the Preacher, it appears to me that 
much may be said in the way of explanation. One important c/;n- 



ECCLESIASTES. 105 

sideration is the general character of the composition, which does 
not aim at metaphysical accuracy of expression, or precise state- 
ments of doctrine or principles. The writer throws out thoughts 
and views, which occur to him as the results of his various experi- 
ence, without making at the time the limitations and qualifications 
which a more careful and logical writer would have placed in im- 
mediate (Connection with the former. We are not, therefore, to 
take all the thoughts which he expresses, while contemplating 
things in certain points of view, as his final and settled convictions. 
We are to consider whether, in the course of his essay, he has not 
limited, or modified, former statements, if not formally and ex- 
pressly, yet by solemn additional declarations, which in fact qualify 
the former ; whether, in the one case, he has not told us what he 
thought when considering things under certain aspects, and, in the 
other, what he believed on the whole, and taking all circumstances 
into the account ; whether, in the one case, he has not been stating 
facts which perplexed his mind, and, in the other, expressed his 
habitual faith in the religion of the Old Testament, to which he 
clung notwithstanding these facts. It is very doubtful, however, 
whether he intends to contradict, or has in fact contradicted, any 
one proposition which he has laid down, in the same sense and de- 
gree in which he asserted it. 

It is probable that nothing advanced by the Preacher has given 
greater occasion for the charge of inconsistency or contradiction, 
than the sentiments which he expresses in relation to a retribution 
for sin. The difiiculty occasioned by his statements in relation to 
this subject is the greater, if, as seems to be most probable, he 
had not attained to faith in a life after death, or a future state of 
retribution. The doctrine of a retribution after death affords the 
easy solution of the difficulty, which satisfies many readers. But, 
if the writer did not believe in the doctrine, we need a different 
explanation of the facts. Some of the passages relating to this 
subject are the following : In chap. viii. 14, 15, the Preacher 
says, " There is a vanity which taketh place upon the earth, that 
there are righteous men to whom it happeneth according to the 
work of the wicked, and that there are wicked men to whom it 
happeneth according to the work of the righteous. I said. This 
also is vanity. Then I commended joy ; because nothing is good 

6* 



106 INTRODUCTION TO 

for a man, except to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful ; for it ia 
this that abideth with him for his labor during the days of his life 
which God giveth him under the sun." So, chap. ix. 2-5, ** All 
things [come to them] as to all. There is one event to the right- 
eous and to the wicked ; to the good, to the clean, and to the un- 
clean ; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrifice th not ; as 
is the good, so is the sinner ; he that sweareth [falsely] , as he 
that fears an oath. This is an evil among all things which take 
place under the sun, that there is one event to all ; therefore also 
the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their 
heart while they live, and afterward they go down to the dead. 
For who is there that is excepted ? With all the living there is 
hope ; for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living 
know that they must die ; but the dead know not any thing, and 
there is no more to them any advantage ; for their memory is for- 
gotten. . . . Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy 
wine with a cheerful heart." Other passages of similar import 
might be quoted ; but these are sufficient. 

On the other hand, we read, in chap. iii. 17, ** Then I said in my 
heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked. For there 
shall be a time for every employment and for every work [to be 
judged]." And in chap. viii. 12, 13, **But though a sinner do 
evil a hundred times, and have his days prolonged, yet surely I 
know that it shall be well with them that fear God, that fear be- 
fore him. But it shall not be well with the wicked ; he shall be 
like a shadow, and shall not prolong his days ; because he feareth 
not before God." And in chap. xi. 9, ** Know that for these things 
God will bring thee into judgment." And in chap. xii. 14, *'For 
God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, 
whether it be good, or whether it be evil." (See also chap. v. 
3-7; vii. 17, 18; viii. 8.) 

Now, the first remark, which may be made upon these seeming 
inconsistencies respecting the doctrine of retribution for sin is, 
that they are not peculiar to the Book of Ecclesiastes. We find 
similar representations in the Psalms, in the Book of Job, and in 
Habakkuk. (See Ps. Ixxiii. ; Hab. i. 12-17.) The Book of Jod 
contains strong representations of the prosperity of the wicked, 
and the misery of the righteous ; which representations the writei 



ECCLESIASTES. 107 

reconciles with faith in a righteous retribution for sin, and that, 
too, in the present world. That these representations are gener- 
ally put into the mouths of different speakers is a mere matter of 
form, adopted by the author in order to present different views 
of the subject. But this is not always the case. Job himself is 
made to utter sentiments apparently so diverse in chap. xxiv. and 
xxvii., that some critics have made arbitrary alterations in the 
text to meet the supposed difficulty. It is probable, therefore, 
that the alleged inconsistency in the case of the Preacher is to be 
explained in the same way as the passages referred to in the 
Psalms, Job, and Habakkuk. 

2. It is to be remarked, that the facts asserted by the Preacher 
are, to a considerable extent at least, what we all know to be 
true. Physical events do take place according to physical laws. 
The sun rises on the evil and the good, and the rain descends on 
the just and the unjust. When a tempest rages, it does not spare 
the fields and dwellings of the righteous. When the pestilence 
lays waste, it does not pass by the innocent and devout. If there 
be any exaggeration in the Preacher^s statements, if he places the 
difficulties which occur to his mind respecting the moral govern- 
ment of God in a very strong light, this is to be referred to the 
bold, unqualified way in which he expresses all his thoughts, and 
to his desire to give a striking illustration of the vanity of human 
things. He does not make his statements as deciding the question 
against a retribution for sin, but only as presenting difficulties. 
He is expressing thoughts which occurred to his mind at th* time, 
not giving his view on the whole. He is complaining that the 
wicked escape for a long time, though he may yet have believed, 
as he has expressly asserted, that judgment would at some time 
overtake them. Notwithstanding the extent to which all things 
happen alike to all, he may have believed in the doctrine of a right- 
eous retribution, as established by the general consequences of 
human actions, as required by the justice of God, and as certainly 
contained in the religious books of his nation. 

For it will be conceded by all, that the doctrine of a righteous 
retribution in the present life is the doctrine of the Old Testament. 
It is found throughout the Pentateuch and the Book of Proverbs. 
It was firmly held by the Psalmists, by Habakkuk, and the author 



108 INTRODUCTION TO 

of Job, notwithstanding the difficulties presented by the prosperity 
of the wicked, and the sufferings of the righteous. Their faith in 
retribution was not shaken by their observation, that ** the un- 
godly prospered in the world, and increased in riches," while the 
righteous *'have been smitten every day, and chastened every 
morning." They had faith, that, though ** judgment against an 
evil work was not executed speedily," the wicked** stood in slip- 
pery places ; " and that in some way, and at some time, the ways of 
transgressors would be found to be hard, and that, too, in this 
world. Why, then, should we seek a solution of the difficulty in 
Ecclesiastes different from that which is applicable to other writers 
of the Old Testament ? What more is necessary than to suppose, 
that, in the one class of passages, the Preacher states his faith, and 
the faith of his nation, in the doctrine of temporal retribution ; 
whilst, in the other class, he only states facts in regard to the tem- 
porary distribution of good and evil in the world, especially in re- 
gard to the occurrence of the same physical events to all without 
distinction of character, which, though they perplex his mind and 
occasion embarrassment, and impress it with the vanity of human 
things, yet do not shake his faith. In the one case, he declares 
what is true on the whole, in the long-run, and all things consid- 
ered, and what may be expected from the eternal justice of the 
Almighty. In the other, he is stating what fell under his own 
observation and experience in a given time, and which occasioned 
him so much embarrassment, that he exclaims, ** Then I saw the 
whole work of God, that a man cannot comprehend that which is 
done under the sun ; how much soever he may labor to search it 
out, yet shall he not comprehend it ; yea, though a wise man re- 
solve to know it, yet shall he not be able to comprehend it." 

We Christians believe in the moral government of God, and in 
a retribution for sin to a certain extent in the present world, 
though we are sometimes inclined to wonder that a surer and a 
swifter punishment does not overtake evil-doers. We cannot deny 
the facts which the Preacher has stated, and which, at first view, 
seem inconsistent with his doctrines, however we might qualify the 
statement of them. We think we bring those facts into more per- 
fect harmony with our faith in the moral government of God by 
extending the retributions of sin into the future world. The mind 



ECCLESIASTES. 109 

of the Preacher may have been more embarrassed than that of the 
Cliristian. It would be strange if it were not. He may not have 
been so able to account for the phenomena of human Hfe, as the 
Christian, to whom life and immortality have been brought to light. 
But his faith was not shaken, though his understanding was per- 
plexed. He admits, like an honest man, all the difficulties of the 
subject, and believes still, that though for a time the sinner goes 
unpunished, yet that at some time, and in some way, he is brought 
into judgment by the Supreme E-uler. 

It is true that the Preacher does not limit and qualify all his 
statements, like one who weighs all his words with the accuracy of 
Bishop Butler. It is rather his manner to give bold, unqualified, 
and, as it were, paradoxical statements of the results of his experi- 
ence and observation, as well as of the course of conduct which he 
thinks it advisable to pursue. But if we make due allowance for 
the style of the writer in this respect, and for his use of figurative 
and hyperbolical language, we are not compelled to believe, not- 
withstanding his strong statements respecting the equal condition 
of the righteous and the wicked, that doubt on the subject of 
retribution was the prevailing habit of his mind. 

It may appear singular to some readers that I have spent so 
much time on this topic, when the supposition, that the writer be- 
lieved in a state of retribution after death, would afford so obvi- 
ous a solution of the difficulty in question. But, in several notes 
on various passages in the book, I have given reasons which make 
it appear to my mind most probable that the Preacher had not 
faith in a desirable future life, much less in a future state of retribu- 
tion. It appears to me, that he has himself intimated that this was 
not the way in which he viewed the subject. Thus, in chap. viii. 
13, he says, ** But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall 
he prolong his days, which are as a shadow ; because he feareth 
not before God." I think, too, that if he had had faith in the doc- 
trine of a retribution after death, it would have pervaded the whole 
book, and given an entirely different complexion to it. The prac- 
tical inferences, or recommendations, especially, which the Preacher 
makes in view of the vanity, perplexities, and shortness of life, 
would, it seems to me, have been entirely different, if he had en- 
tertained the Christian faith in immortality and retribution. (See 



110 INTRODUCTION TO 

chap. ii. 24; iii. 12, 13, 22; v. 18-20; vii. 14; viii. 15; ix 7-10, 
&c.) I have already mentioned the probability, that no other 
solution of the difficulties in Ecclesiastes is to be sought, than that 
which applies to the Book of Job, to Habakkuk, and to the 
Psalms. 

With regard to the Preacher's alleged tendency to fatalism, it 
may be admitted that the sentiments of chapters first and second, 
and of such passages as chap. iii. 14, vi. 10, vii. 13, if taken by 
themselves, and pursued to their consequences, without regard to 
other statements and sentiments contained in the book, may seem 
to give some plausibility to the charge. But what author is not 
liable to the same charge, if treated in the same way ? Calvin, 
Dr. Priestley, Dr. Emmons, might receive the same appellation. 
Would not even the doctrine of our Saviour and of the Apostle 
Paul, respecting the dependence of all things upon God and the 
unlimited extent of the Divine providence, be liable to the same 
charge ? The Preacher has amply qualified his statements respect- 
ing the impotency of human exertion, and the inevitable course of 
events, and the dependence of all things upon God, by the doc- 
trine of a righteous retribution, and by various passages, which 
imply faith in human freedom and accountableness. In respect 
to this point, as to others, we must keep in mind the characteristic 
of the writer to give a strong, I might almost say paradoxical, 
view of the condition of human things, which is immediately before 
his mind. The necessary limitations and qualifications are not 
given at the time. At any rate, if some expressions indicate a 
tendency to fatalism, it is certain that the Preacher was not 
a fatalist. 

It may, however, be admitted, that the author gives a stronger 
view than any other Biblical writer of the circumscribed limits of 
human efforts, and their subjection to a higher, established, inevi- 
table course of things, or ordination of Divine providence, which 
man can neither resist nor control. (See chap. iii. 1-15, especially 
14, 15; vi. 10; vii. 13; ix. 1, 11.) The great theme of the book, 
the vanity of human things, is made to consist chiefly of the vanity 
of human effort or striving, as being either wholly fruitless, or 
fruitless in relation to its express object. But, if we interpret the 
language of the author by other parts of the book, we must come 



ECCLESIASTES. ' 111 

to the conclusion, that he by no means designs to encourage inac- 
tivity or neglect of our powers, but only an anxious, ambitious, 
and over-strenuous pursuit of future and distant good. If, in one 
passage, he asks, *' What profit hath a man of all his labor?" he 
says, in another, *' Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy 
might." However strong is the writer's representation of the in- 
fluence of a higher power over his concerns and actions, he has 
enforced doctrines and duties which imply faith in human freedom 
and accountableness. !N^or has any one a right to charge him with 
inconsistency, unless he is able to prove that the doctrines of the 
Divine foreknowledge, providence, and government are inconsist- 
ent with human freedom and accountableness. 

As to the opinion, that the author of Ecclesiastes was a Sad- 
ducee or sceptic, in the sense of settled unbeliever, it appears 
to me to be unfounded. He had doubts, indeed ; but he did not 
abandon himself to them. He goes on with his speculations, till 
he clears some of them up. It is true that he has not faith in a 
future life of retribution. But this doctrine, it must be remem- 
bered, formed no part of the Jewish religion. In this respect, the 
Preacher does not differ essentially from the author of the Book 
of Job, and other writers of the Old Testament. He lived, indeed, 
as is probable, at a later period, when the faith in a future life of 
retribution may have begun to prevail ; but he had had no authori- 
tative assurance of it. It was a mere question of speculative 
philosophy, when speculation on the subject commenced. (See tho 
note on chap. iii. 17, 19, 21 ; xii. 7.) As to the charge of Sad- 
duceeism, it is at least inconsistent with the author's alleged ten- 
dency to fatalism. For the Sadducees, according to Josephus, 
**take away fate, and say there is no such thing, and that the 
events of human affairs are not at its disposal ; but they suppose 
that all our actions are in our own power, so that we are our- 
selves the causes of what is good, and receive what is evil from our 
own folly." * 

As to the charge of Epicurism, if by this is meant that the 
Preacher recommends self-indulgence, — that is, the pleasures of 
sense, or pleasures of any kind, without regard to the obligations 

♦ Whiston's Josephus, Antiq., xiii. 5, 9. 



112 INTRODUCTION TO 

of duty and religion, — it appears to me that it is entirely false, as 
I shall show in the notes upon those passages which have been sup- 
posed to justify it. The foundation of this opinion is a too literal in- 
terpretation of certain figurative and pointed expressions, in which 
the author recommends a quiet enjoyment of the good that one 
possesses, in contradistinction from excessive earnestness, anxiety, 
and exertion after distant and future good. No sound moralist 
will maintain, that the pleasures derived from the eye, the ear, or 
even the palate, are to be regarded as sinful, and denounced as 
Epicurean. The Preacher is careful to tell us, that a man cannot 
have the quiet enjoyment of life, namely, '* wisdom and knowl- 
edge and joy," except by '' the gift of God to those who are good 
in his sight," that is, who discharge the duties of morality and re- 
ligion. (Chap. ii. 26.) It is idle to say that he recommends the 
pleasures of sense as constituting a happy life without "wisdom 
and knowledge and joy." 

There are some other topics on which the Preacher has been 
supposed to utter sentiments irreconcilable with each other, when 
he is, in fact, only giving the results of his various experience, and 
speaking of the subject in different relations. Thus, he often 
speaks in praise of wisdom, and of the advantages which it confers 
on its possessor ; whilst, in other passages, he gives an impressive 
view of its insufficiency to guard its possessor from many of the 
calamities and trials which flesh is heir to. There is no inconsist- 
ency here. He also uses the word in different senses. When he 
says that " in much wisdom is much vexation, and he that increases 
knowledge increases sorrow," he is speaking of mere speculative 
knowledge. His meaning is, that the more one knows of the world, 
the more he knows of its vanity, and that mere speculative knowl- 
edge cannot confer true satisfaction or happiness. In other pas- 
sages, he commends that practical wisdom which enables its 
possessor to avoid the consequences of folly. 

In order to explain the seeming inconsistencies which have been 
considered, the hypothesis has been advanced by some critics, such 
as Herder and Eichhorn, who were never at a loss for an hypothesis 
on any subject, that the Book of Ecclesiastes consists of a dialogue, 
in which the speakers oifer different sentiments on the subject un- 
der discussion. If our views are correct, such an hypothesis is 



ECCLESIASTES. 113 

unnecessary. But if the exigency for it were t«n times greater 
than it is, the difficulty of dividing and arranging the book, so as 
to make it form a natural dialogue, is such, that the hypothesis 
must be regarded as forced and arbitrary in the highest degree. It 
has met with very little favor, and is too improbable to deserve a 
particular examination. 

The great fault of the interpreters of this book has been that of 
ascribing to it more depth of thought, more logic, more method, 
more consistency, greater definiteness of statement, and greater 
particularity of design, than really belong to it. Stuart, though 
not consistent, is liable to this charge. (See his Introduction, 
p. 34.) The bold, indefinite, unprecise language of the author 
has given great opportunity to the commentators of attaching 
their thoughts to the writer's language, instead of extracting from 
it his own thoughts. Thus, Desvoeux, in his Commentary, makes 
the book contain a logical and well-arranged argument to prove 
the immortality of the soul and a future state of retribution. Um- 
breit regards it as a philosophical inquiry relating to the summum 
bonum, or chief good.* Martin Luther says: **The nature and 
design of this book is to teach us that we should with thankfulness 
enjoy present things, and the creatures which God has abundantly 
bestowed upon us, and not be anxious about the future ; keeping 
a tranquil, quiet spirit, and a mind full of joy, being contented 
with the word and works of God."f Jahn coincides in opinion 
with Luther. *' The author," says he, ** does not dwell upon the 
vanity and vexatiousness of human affairs more than upon an 
agreeable use of the pleasures of life ; and therefore his intention 
evidently was to repress the restless and eager efforts of men, 
which hurry them on in heaping up wealth, in securing pleasures, 
and acquiring honors ; and, at the same time, to instruct them not 
to increase the troubles of life by denying themselves the enjoy- 
ment of harmless, though uncertain and fleeting, pleasures." J 
On this opinion of Luther and Jahn, the remark may be made, 
that it is just to a certain extent. The practical design which they 

* Koheleth Scepticus de Summo Bono. Commentatio philosophicocritica. 
Getting., 1820. 

t Pref. in Ecclesiastem, in 0pp. Lat., edit. Wittenb., torn. iv. p. i. 
t Jahn's Introd. to O. T., § 212. 



114 INTRODUCTION TO 

ascribe to the author was, without doubt, entertained by him ; but 
whether it ought to be regarded as the chief and special design of 
the whole book may be doubted. On the contrary, the practical 
recommendation of the Preacher, as stated by Luther and Jahn, 
occurs in the book as an inference from the general view of the 
vanity of human things which he undertook to illustrate. 

Various other designs have been assigned to the author ; among 
which is that of Kaiser, who supposes the work to be an historico- 
didactic poem, in which the characters of the Jewish kings, from 
Solomon to Zedekiah, are set forth and censured, so as to show 
what was the cause of the ruin of the Jewish nation.* The chief 
objection to this theory is, that the author of the work has given 
no intimation, directly or indirectly, of any such design. 

There is also the theory of Ewald, who supposes the book to 
have been written when Palestine had become a province of Per- 
sia, and the Jews were suffering under the tyranny and violence 
of the Persian satraps. In this state of things, some of them had 
become weary of life and indifferent to all things ; some plunged 
themselves into pleasures ; and some openly inveighed against 
their oppressors, and thus exasperated their minds the more 
against them. In such times, says Ewald, f the Preacher under- 
took to compose a book in which he exhorts his countrymen *'to 
bear present evils with patience, to be cautious and circumspect 
in speech, and, above all, to fear God, who would at some time 
bring all things into judgment and set all things right. He 
exhorts them, therefore, not to sink under their calamities, but to 
enjoy, with a grateful and cheerful mind, the goods which had been 
placed within their reach." 

The objection to this theory, too, is, that it is mere theory ; 
that, even if the book was written in the circumstances of national 
distress which the writer supposes, of which, however, there is no 
evidence, there is no such necessary allusion to national affairs as 
this theory implies. There are no sentiments in the book which 

* Koheletli, das Collectivum der Davidischen Konige in Jerusalem, ein 
historisches Lehrgedicht iiber den Umsturtz des Judischen Staates. Erlan- 
gen, 1823. 

t In his remarks on Ecclesiastes, appended to his work, Das Hohelied 
Salome's, iibersetzt, &;c. Getting., 1826. 



ECCLESIASTES. 115 

the vicissitudes of human life may not have led the author to 
express in any circumstances of the Jewish nation. A similar 
theory was proposed by Warburton, with reference to the Book of 
Job, and with as little foundation. 

The only proper way of coming at the truth in relation to this 
subject is to consider the author as having designed to do what he 
has actually done ; not to ascribe to him any greater unity or 
speciality of purpose than appears in his work ; not to make the 
thoughts on various topics, thrown off as they arose freely -in 
the mind of the author and connected by casual associations, the 
parts of a logical argument, or the means of accomplishing au 
elaborate plan, which may never have existed in his mind. 

If we gather the design of the author from what he has done, 
we must conclude that his purpose was to please, to instruct, and 
to improve his readers, by making known tathem his thoughts on 
the vanity of human life. The illustration of this topic is, and is 
regarded by the common reader, the prominent aim of the author. 
*' Vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities, all is vanity," is the begin- 
ning, the middle, and the end of the essay. It is the chain which 
binds the whole together. And yet all parts of it do not conspire 
merely to illustrate this one topic. Throughout the work are 
interspersed advice and proverbial maxims respecting the conduct 
of life and the discharge of duty in relation to man and God. 
The author springs from one topic to another, to which he is 
drawn by some casual association, pursues the latter for a time, 
and then returns to the former. The vanity of human things 
being regarded as the main doctrinal view of the author, the 
general subject of the book, what Luther maintains to be its chief 
design, may be regarded as his prominent practical inference ; 
namely, that men should, in the discharge of duty, enjoy with 
gratitude the blessings of life as they come, without distressing 
anxiety and over-strenuous exertions after distant and future good. 
Yet the practice of virtue and the fear of God are enjoined as 
of the first importance in regard to the enjoyment of such happi- 
ness as may be attained in a world of vanity ; and while the young 
and the old are encouraged to enjoy life as it passes, and to lose 
none of its pleasures through a spirit of asceticism, or of anxiety 
and ambition about the distant and the future, yet only such an 



116 INTRODUCTION TO 

enjoyment of the good things of life is recommended as is con- 
sistent with the constant remembrance of the Creator, and of the 
judgment which is appointed for all. 

That the preceding account of the subject and design of the 
book is correct, may appear from a more particular analysis of it, 
and from the commentary which follows it. 

The principal thought is first laid down, that all is vain and 
unprofitable. (Chap. I. 1, 2.) This view the Preacher illus- 
trates, — 

1. By the wearisome, ever-recurring changes which are taking 

place without bringing to pass any thing new, or leading to 
any new result which is adapted to give satisfaction to the 
mind of man. (Yer. 4-11.) 

2. By the dissatisfaction attending the pursuit of wisdom or 

knowledge. (Yer. 12-18.) 

3. By the unsatisfactoriness of the pleasures of life and of striv- 

ings after them, even when united with the pursuit of knowl- 
edge and philosophy. (Chap. ii. 1-11.) 

4. The author then compares the pleasures of knowledge and 

the pleasures of sense with one another, and passes judg- 
ment on them ; and recommends it as the best course which 
a man can pursue, in order to make the best of a vain world, 
to give up anxious cares about distant objects and perplexing 
subjects, and to enjoy with a tranquil, contented, cheerful 
mind the blessings of life, as he goes along in its paths. 
(Chap. ii. 12-26.) 4 

6. The vanity of human tilings is illustrated by their established 
changes and periods, their fixed course, all things having 
their limits and time appointed by a higher power than man's. 
Hence the folly of anxiety, and the vanity of over-strenuous 
exertion, since man cannot alter the fixed and established 
course of things ; and hence the wisdom of taking things as 
they come, and making the best of them, in obedience and 
submission to the Divine will, which controls and disposes 
all things. (Chap. ill. 1-15.) 

6. The vanity of human things is illustrated by the prevalence of 
injustice and violence among men, and the resemblance 



ECCLESIASTES. 117 

of man to brutes in respect to hardships and death. Hence, 
too, the Preacher derives the conclusion, that it is best to 
take a cheerful enjoyment of the good things of life, without 
anxious cares respecting the future. (Chap. iii. 16-22.) 

7 . The vanity of human things is next illustrated by reference to 

the sufferings of the oppressed ; the envy which is excited 
toward the prosperous ; the evils of avarice and of solitude ; 
the evils attendant on royalty, arising from the infirmities 
of its possessor and the fickleness of the people. (Chap, iv.) 
Then follow some proverbial maxims respecting the worship 
of God (chap. V. 1-7) ; then proverbs recommending the 
quiet pursuit of agriculture, in preference to the agitating, 
avaricious pursuit of wealth (8-17) . These are followed by 
the advice before given ; namely, to enjoy the good things of 
life as they come, without anxiety or wearisome efforts after 
distant and future good (18-20). 

8. The vanity of human things connected with wealth hoarded up 

without being enjoyed or used (chap. vi. 1-6), and with 
insatiable desires (7-9). Then follows an obscure passage, 
apparently intended to illustrate the vanity of human things 
(10-12). 

9. Then follows a series of maxims and precepts respecting the 

guidance, support, and consolation of men in their passage 
through life, recommending righteousness and piety, with 
occasional remarks on the vanity of human things, such as 
the vanity of striving after wisdom, the certainty of death, 
&c. (Chap. vii. 1-viii. 13.) 
10. Then follows a new illustration of the vanity of human things, 
drawn from the prosperity of the wicked and the sufferings 
of the righteous, and the impossibility of comprehending the 
ways of Providence ; closing with the practical exhortation, 
which he has given so many times before, to a quiet and 
cheerful enjoyment of life, while life lasts, as **his portion," 
as **all that abideth with him of his labor," without indulg- 
ing in vain grief for what cannot be helped, or in the anxious, 
restless pursuit of that which cannot be attained, or which, 
when attained, yields no satisfaction. **Go thy way," says 
he, after giving the most melancholy picture of life which he 



118 INTRODUCTION TO 

has yet presented, ** eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy 
wine with a cheerful heart; for now is God pleased with 
thy works. Let thy garments be always white, and let not 
fragrant oil be wanting upon thy head. Enjoy life with the 
wife whom thou lovest, all the days of thy vain life, which 
he hath given thee under the sun, all thy vain days." — 
(Chap. viii. 14 -ix. 10.) 

11. A new illustration of the vanity of human life, drawn from 

the circumstances, that success does not always answer to a 
man's strength, wisdom, or other advantages ; and that wis- 
dom, with all its benefits to the public, often brings but little 
consideration to its possessor. Then follow various prover- 
bial maxims, showing the advantages of wisdom and pru- 
dence, and the evil of rulers unfit for their station ; and 
designed to regulate the conduct in private and public. 
This section closes with a recommendation of liberality to 
the poor, and of diligent exertion in our appropriate pur- 
suits, without an over-anxious solicitude respecting the issue 
of our labors. (Chap. ix. 11 -xi. 6.) 

12. The Preacher now exhorts to a cheerful enjoyment of life as 

it passes, and the putting away of care and sorrow, in view 
of that portion of life's vanity which consists in the evil 
days of old age, and of the long period of darkness in 
prospect. (Chap. xi. 7-xii. 8.) Then follows a repetition 
of the chief truth which has been illustrated in the work, 
namely, the vanity of human things ; and the final recom- 
mendation of the Preacher, as the conclusion of the whole 
discourse, and the duty of every man; namely, **to fear 
God and keep his commandments." (Chap. xii. 9-14.) 

From this view of the contents of the Book of Ecclesiastes, it 
may be inferred that the author was a man of wisdom, virtue, and 
religion, according to the light which he had. He was not a 
fatalist, or a sceptic, or an Epicurean, in any offensive sense of 
those terms. He may be regarded as of a free, speculative, and 
somewhat sceptical turn of mind, but still holding fast the funda- 
mental principles of the Jewish faith. If he had doubts, they 
related to subjects upon which he found no certain light in the 



ECCLESIASTES. 119 

religion of his fathers and Ms country. If lie recommended 
the enjoyment of life, it was such an enjoyment as was consistent 
with virtue and religion. A deep sense of religion is evidently 
habitual to him, notwithstanding the difhculties which perplexed 
his understanding. He has a living faith in a wise and benevolent 
God, and a righteous government of the world, though the princi- 
ples of this government are regarded by him as being beyond the 
comprehension of man. 

On the other hand, it may be conceded that he has given a 
more melancholy view of human life than is consistent with the 
spirit of Christianity, or of a comprehensive philosophy. Many 
Christians have taken just such a melancholy view of human life, 
and like no hymn better than the one beginning, *' I would not 
live alway." But the Preacher had never heard the glad tidings 
of great joy to all people. The light of the Sun of Righteousness 
Lad not arisen upon his mind. 

It may be admitted, too, that the subject of enjoyment occupied 
a more prominent place in the mind of the author than in the 
mind of Jesus Christ. A higher, more disinterested, more devoted 
spirit pervades the teachings of Him who spake as never man 
spake than we can find in any of the writings of the Old Testa- 
ment. The Christian is taught to do his duty, and let enjoyment 
take care of itself. ** Seek first the kingdom of God and his 
righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you," is the 
language of him who came to perfect the law. I do not mean 
that the Book of Ecclesiastes contains any particular precept 
absolutely inconsistent with the Sermon on the Mount. But in 
respect to its tone, spirit, and the prominence it gives to certain 
topics, it must be allowed to be far behind it. A spirit of self- 
sacrifice for the good of others is certainly not so congenial to the 
mind of the author as to the mind of Christ. 

Finally, if it be conceded that the Preacher expresses occa- 
sional doubts, where Paul or John would be rejoicing in hope and 
confidence, this should not lead us to give the ancient Hebrew 
essayist the name of Sadducee, sceptic, or Epicurean, but rather 
to thank God, who has raised up Jesus to show us the nature and 
design of our present existence, and **to bring life and immor- 
tality to light." 



120 INTRODUCTION TO 

Perhaps it may be well to say a few words on the authoi'ship 
of Ecclesiastes, though, in a work of its didactic character, this is 
not a very important question. That by **the Preacher, the son 
of David," in chap. i. 1, is denoted Solomon, there can be no 
doubt. But this by no means proves that Solomon was the author 
of the composition ; but only that the author, whoever he was, 
adopted the plan of introducing into the book one so celebrated 
throughout the East for wisdom and for prosperity as Solomon, 
for the purpose of giving weight to the sentiments which are put 
into his mouth. In adopting this plan, it is not probable that he 
intended to deceive his contemporaries, but only to make use of a 
literary fiction, such as is common in modern times ; a fiction 
which is not very carefully supported. The prevalent belief, it is 
true, has been that Solomon was the author of the book. The 
first commentator, so far as I know, who called the received 
opinion in question, was the accomplished scholar and jurist, 
Hugo Grotius. '* I think," says he, **the work is not a produc- 
tion of Solomon, but one written in the name of that king, as 
being led by repentance to the composition of it. It contains 
many words which cannot be found, except in Ezra, Daniel, and 
the Chaldee paraphrasts." In expressing his opinion, Grotius, 
with his usual sagacity, has mentioned by far the strongest argu- 
ment in its support ; namely, the characteristics of the language of 
Ecclesiastes, especially those which give it an Aramaean complexion. 
These are so scattered throughout the work, that it is sufl[icient to 
refer the Hebrew scholar to the whole Hebrew original. He 
cannot read the first chapter of it, without having strong doubts 
whether it was written by the principal author of the Book of 
Proverbs.* 

The Book of Proverbs, if not wholly composed by Solomon, 
must be regarded, to a great extent, as his production, and 
undoubtedly belongs to his age, to the flourishing period of the 
Hebrew language and literature. But whoever will proceed from 



* For an enumeration of the peculiarities of the language of Ecclesiastes, 
the critical reader is referred to De Wette's Introduction to the Old Testa- 
ment, or to a still more complete view of them in Knobel's German Com- 
mentary, pp. GO-75. 



ECCLESIASTES. 121 

the perusal of tlie Proverbs of Solomon to that of the Book of 
Ecelesiastes must receive from the diction of the latter a strong 
conviction that it is not only the production of a different author, 
but of a later age. In fact, there has been no greater opposi- 
tion to this opinion than was to be expected from the natural 
prejudice in favor of the received tradition. The best scholars 
since the time of Grotius, who have given attention to the subject, 
have adopted his opinion. Even the Romanist, Jahn, who is very 
slow to adopt an opinion not in accordance with the tradition of 
the church, is unable to resist the evidence against the opinion that 
Solomon was the author of Ecelesiastes. Such critics as Dathe, 
Doderlein, and Pareau are of the same opinion. Dathe observes, 
that ** Doderlein and Eichhorn have established their point by 
arguments so weighty, that none except very stubborn defenders 
of ancient traditions can deny it." * 

Even Professor Stuart, in his recent work on the canon of the 
Old Testament (p. 139), admits, though the admission is hardly 
consistent with the general argument of his book, that **the 
diction of this book differs so widely from that of Solomon in 
the Book of Proverbs, that it is difficult to believe that both came 
from the same pen. Chaucer does not differ more from Pope, 
than Ecelesiastes from Proverbs. It appears to me, when I read 
Coheleth, that it presents one of those cases which leave no room 
for doubt, so striking and prominent is the discrepancy." 

Knobel, the author of one of the best critical commentaries on 
Ecelesiastes with which we are acquainted, says, **No point in 
the criticism of the Old Testament is better established than that 
Ecelesiastes was not written by Solomon, but in a later age." 
Moie recently, Hitzig and Heiligstedt agree in the same conclu- 
sion. It ought to be mentioned, however, that there are those 
who maintain a different opinion. Whoever wishes to see the 
arguments on the other side of the question may find them 
well stated in a preliminary dissertation to Ecelesiastes, by George 
Holden, London, 1822. They will not pass for much with those 
who are in the habit of weighing, rather than of counting, argu- 
ments. 

* Jobus, Ecelesiastes, &c., a Dathio, p. 358. 
6 



122 INTRODUCTION TO 

There are also other considerations, which, though they may 
not be in the highest degree conclusive when standing alone, yet 
confirm the conclusion drawn from the diction of Ecclesiastes. 
It appears to me, that the English reader may perceive, in the 
general style, character, and topics of the book, reasons for 
supposing that it came from another author than that of the 
Book of Proverbs. The style of the latter is concise, terse, 
elevated ; that of the former is quite diffuse, vague, prosaic. 
The instruction of the one is preceptive and positive, having no 
reference to speculative doubts ; that of the other is in the way 
of philosophic discussion, presenting the different aspects in which 
a subject may be viewed, and what, on the whole, is to be re- 
garded as the truth. 

There are several topics, introduced into the book, which seem 
not very appropriate to the reign of Solomon, and which, if they 
had been so, that wise monarch might have been expected to pass 
over in silence. Among these are the complaints of the oppres- 
sion of unjust rulers (chap. iii. 16; iv. 1), of the extortions of 
provincial magistrates (chap. v. 8), and of the elevation of infe- 
rior men to high stations (chap. x. 5-7). In fact, whenever the 
author speaks of kings and governors, he speaks in the tone of a 
subject rather than a king ; of an observer, rather than of a holder, 
of kingly power. (See iv. 13-16; v. 8, 9 ; viii. 2-5; ix. 13-18; 
x. 4-7, 16-20.) 

The fiction, according to which the sentiments of the book are 
put into the mouth of Solomon, is so unskilfully sustained, that it 
appears to be only a fiction. If the book were written by Solo- 
mon, why does he say, *'I loas king".^ A living king would be 
more likely to say, "I, the king," &c. Why should Solomon say 
to his contemporaries that he was king in Jerusalem- ? Before the 
separation of the ten tribes, it was a superfluous expression. No 
one had been king in Samaria. Especially, why should he say 
that he had gained greater wisdom than all his predecessors at 
Jerusalem (chap. i. 16), when he had only one predecessor in that 
city ; namely, David. All these expressions, however, might 
easily have escaped from an author not careful to maintain a 
literary fiction. In chap. i. 16, ii. 9, 15, 19, Solomon is repre- 
sented as praising his own wisdom, and relating his own experi- 



ECCLESIASTES. 123 

ence in a manner not very natural to a real, living person. 
Finally, the author, in chap. xii. 9, &oeins to drop the fiction, and 
to speak of Solomon in the third person. 

It is much more difficult to form a confident opinion as to the 
time when the Book of Ecclesiastes was written, than it is to 
decide that it belongs to a much later age than that of Solomon. 
From the Aramsean complexion of the language, from the religious 
and literary character of the book, and from its spirit and tone, as 
being suited to times of calamity and oppression, one may feel 
considerable confidence that it was written after the return of the 
Jews from the exile at Babylon ; and there seems to be nothing 
to object to the prevalent opinion of the German critics, such as 
De Wette, Knobel, and Ewald, who date the composition of it 
near the fall of the Persian monarchy, or at the beginning of the 
Macedonian domination under Alexander; that is, about three 
hundred and thirty years before the Christian era. But it may 
have been written somewhat later. The occurrence of two words 
of Persian origin, j"lS and C^riS, in chap. ii. 5, viii. 11, in con- 
nection with the arguments which have been mentioned for the 
late origin of the book, seems to favor this supposition. There 
are no reasons of any weight for supposing the Jewish canon of 
Scripture to have closed before this period. We are inclined, 
however, to adopt the date above mentioned, rather from the 
absence of more valid arguments in favor of any other opinion, 
than from the conclusiveness of the reasons urged in its support.* 
As to the opinion which has been advanced, that traces of an 
acquaintance with Grecian philosophy are found in Ecclesiastes, 
we can only say that we have not been able to discern them. 

Whoever wishes for a list of the commentators on Ecclesiastes 
will find one long enough to satisfy him in Rosenmiiller^s Introduc- 
tion to this book. Of those which he has not mentioned, I have 
seen — An Attempt to illustrate the Book of Ecclesiastes, by the 
Kev. George Holdeu, M.A., London, 1822 ; Uebersetzung des 
Koheleth nebst grammatisch exegetischem Commentar, von Moses 
Heinemann, Berlin, 1831 ; and Commentar liber das Buch Kohe- 

* See Davidson's Int. to 0. T., ii. p. 356, &c 



124 INTRODUCTION TO E C CLESI ASTES. 

leth, von August Knobel, Leipzig, 1836. In preparing this edi- 
tion, I have also, on the more important passages, consulted the 
Commentaries of Hitzig, Heiligstedt, Stuart, and Ginsburg (Lon- 
don, 1861). A few changes in the version, and some additional 
notes, have been made. 

Cambridge, Nov 14 "JSefi 



ECCLESIASTES. 



1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in 
Jerusalem. 

2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vani- 

3 ties, all is vanity. What profit hath a man by all his labor 

4 with which he wearieth himself under the sun ? One 
generation passeth away, and another generation cometh ; 

6 while the earth abideth for ever. The sun riseth, and the 
sun goeth down, and hasteneth to the place whence it 

6 arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth 
about to the north ; round and round goeth the wind, and 

7 returneth to its circuit-. All the rivers run into the sea, 
yet the sea is not full ; to the place whence the rivers 

8 come, thither they return. All words become weary ; man 
cannot express it ; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor 
the ear filled with hearing. 

9 The thing that hath been is that which shall be, and 
that which hath been done is that which shall be done ; 

10 and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any 
thing of which one may say, " Behold, this is new " ? 

11 It was long ago, in the times which were before us. There 
is no remembrance of former things, and of things that 
are to come there shall be no remembrance to those who 
live afterwards. 

12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel at Jerusalem. 

13 And I gave my mind to seek and to search out with wis- 
dom concerning all things which are done under heaven ; 
an evil business, which God hath given to the sons of 

[125] 



126 ECCLESIASTES. [chap. ii. 

14 men, in which to employ themselves. I saw all the 
things which are done under the sun ; and, behold, it was 

15 all vanity, and striving after wind. That which is crooked 
cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot 

16 be numbered. I communed with my heart, saying, " Be- 
hold, I have gained more and greater wisdom than all who 
have been before me at Jerusalem ; yea, my mind hath 

17 seen much wisdom and knowledge." And I gave my 
mind to know wisdom, and to know senselessness and folly ; 

18 I perceived that this also is striving after wind. For in 
much wisdom is much vexation, and he that increaseth 
knowledge increaseth sorrow. 

1 I said in my heart, " Come, now, I will try thee with 
mirth ; therefore enjoy pleasure ! " But, lo ! this also 

2 was vanity. I said of laughter, " It is mad ; " and of mirth, 

3 " What availeth it ? " I thought in my heart to strengthen 
my body with wine, and, while my heart cleaved to wis- 
dom, to lay hold on folly, till I should see what was good 
for the sons of men, which they should do under heaven 

4 all the days of their life. I made me great works. I 

5 builded me houses ; I planted me vineyards. I made me 
gardens and parks, and planted in them fruit-trees of every 

6 kind. I made me pools of water, with which to water the 

7 grove shooting up trees. I got me men-servants and 
maid-servants, and had servants born in my house. I had 
also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than all 

8 who were in Jerusalem before me. I heaped me up also 
silver and gold, and the wealth of kings and of provinces. 
I got me men-singers and women-singers, and the delight 
of the sons of men, a chosen woman and chosen women. 

9 So I became greater than all that were before me in Jeru- 

10 salem. My wisdom also remained with me. And what- 
ever mine eyes desired I kept not from them ; I withheld 
not my heart from any joy. For my heart rejoiced by 
means of all my labor, and this was my portion from all 

11 my labor. Then I looked upon all the works which my 
hands had wrought, and upon all the labor which I had 
toiled in performing; and, behold, it was all vanity, and 
striving after wind, and there was no profit under the 
sun. 



CHAP. II.] ECCLESIASTES. 127 

12 Then I turned myself to behold wisdom and senseless- 
ness and folly. For what can the man do that cometh 
after the king ? even that which hath been already done. 

13 I saw, indeed, that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light 

14 excelleth darkness. The wise man's eyes are in his head, 
but the fool walketh in darkness ; yet I perceived also that 

15 one event happen eth to them all. Then I said in my heart, 
''As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth to me. 
Why, then, became I wiser than others ? " Then I said in 

16 my heart, " This also is vanity." For there is no remem- 
brance of the wise man more than of the fool for ever ; 
for in the days to come shall all have long been forgotten ; 

17 and, alas ! the wise man dieth, as well as the fool. There- 
fore I hated life, because what is done under the sun 
appeared evil to me. For all is vanity, and striving after 

18 wind. Yea, I hated all my labor which I had performed 
under the sun, because I must leave it to the man that 

19 shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall 
be a wise man or a fool ? Yet shall he be lord of all 
the labor with which I have wearied myself, and in which 
I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is 
vanity. 

20 Therefore I turned to give up my heart to despair in 
regard to all the labor with which I had wearied myself 

21 under the sun. For there is a man whose labor has been 
with wisdom and knowledge and skill ; yet to a man who 
hath not labored for it must he leave it as his portion. 

22 This also is vanity and a great evil. For what hath man 
of all his labor, and the striving of his spirit, with which 

23 he wearieth himself under the sun ? For all his days are 
grief, and his occupation trouble ; even in the night his 

24 heart taketh no rest. This also is vanity. There is noth- 
ing better for a man than to eat and drink, and let his soul 
enjoy good in his labor. But this, as I have seen, cometh 

25 from the hand of God. For who can eat, or hasten there- 

26 unto, more than I ? For to a man who is good in his sight 
God giveth wisdom and knowledge and joy ; but to the 
sinner he giveth the wearisome business of gathering and 
heaping up, to give it to him who is good before God 
This also is vanity, and striving after wind. 



128 ECtLESIASTES. [chap. iii. 

1 For every thing there is a fixed period, and an appointed 

2 time to every thing under heaven : — A time to be born, 
and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up 

3 what is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal A time 

4 to breaking down, and a time to build up. A time to weej), 
and a time to laugh. A time to mourn, and a time to 

6 dance. A time to cast stones asunder, and a time to gatlier 
stones together. A time to embrace, and a time to refrain 

6 from embracing. A time to seek, and a time to lose. A 

7 time to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to rend, 
and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to 

8 speak. A time to love, and a time to hate. A time of 

9 war, and a time of peace. — What profit hath he who la- 
boreth from that with which he wearieth himself? 

10 I have seen the business which God hath given to the 

11 sons of men to exercise themselves therewith. God maketh 
every thing good in its time ; but he hath put the world 
into the heart of man, so that he understandeth not the 
work which God doeth, from the beginning to the end. 

12 I know that there is nothing better for a man than that 

13 he should rejoice and enjoy good his life long. But when 
a man eateth and drinketh, and enjoyeth good through all 

14 his labor, this is the gift of God. I know that whatever 
God doeth, that shall be for ever. Nothing can be added 
to it, and nothing taken from it ; and God doeth it that 

15 men may fear before him. That which is, was long ago ; 
and that which is to be, hath already been ; and God recall- 
eth that which is past. 

16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of jus- 
tice there was iniquity ; and in the place of righteousness, 

17 iniquity. Then said I in my heart, " God will judge the 
righteous and the wicked For there shall be a time for 
every matter and for every work. 

18 I said in my heart concerning the sons of men, that God 
will prove them, in order that they may see that they are 

19 like the beasts. For that which befalleth the sons of men 
befalleth beasts : one lot befalleth both. As the one dieth, 
so dieth the other. Yea, there is one spirit in them, and 
a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast ; for all is van- 

20 ity. All go to one place ; all are from the dust, and all 



CHAP. IV.] ECCLESIASTES. 129 

21 turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man, 
whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of a beast, whether 

22 it goeth downward to the earth ? And so I saw that there 
is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his 
labors ; for that is his portion. For who shall bring him 
to see what shall be after him ? 

1 Then I turned and saw all the oppressions which take 
place under the sun ; and. behold, there were the tears 
of the oppressed, and they had no comforter ; and from 
the hand of their oppressors there was violence, and they 

2 had no comforter. Therefore I praised the dead, who 
have been long ago dead, more than the living, who are 

3 yet alive. Yea, better than both of them is he who hath 
not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work which is 
done under the sun. 

4 And I saw all labor, and all success in work, that for 
this a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is van- 

5 ity, and striving after wind. The fool foldeth his hands 

6 together and eateth his own flesh. Better is a hand full 
of quietness, than both hands full of weariness and striv- 
ing after wind. 

7 Then I turned and saw other vanity under the sun. 

8 There is one who is alone, and no one with him ; yea, he 
hath neither son nor brother ; yet is there no end to ail his 
labor, and his eye is not satisfied with riches. " For whom, 
then [saith he], do I labor and deprive myself of good?" 

9 This also is vanity ; yea, it is an evil thing ! Two are 
better than one, because they have a good reward for 

10 their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift his fellow 
up ; but woe to him who is alone when he falleth, and hath 

11 not another to help him up ! Again, if two lie together, 
then they have heat ; but how can one be warm alone ? 

12 And if an enemy prevail against one, two shall withstand 
him ; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. 

13 Better is a child poor but wise, than a king old and 

14 foolish, who will no more be admonished. For out of prison 
Cometh forth such a one to reign ; for in his own kingdom 

15 he was born a poor man. I saw that all the living, who 
walk under the sun, were with the child who stood up in 

16 his stead. There was no end to all the people before 

6* 



130 ECCLESIASTES. [chap. v. 

whom he went forth ; yet they that come afterwaids shall 
not rejoice in him. This also is vanity, and striving after 
wind. 

1 Look well to thy feet, when thou goest to the house of 
God, and draw nigh to hear, rather than to offer sacrifice 

2 as fools. For they consider not that they do evil. Be 
not hasty with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be swift 
to utter any thing before God. For God is in heaven, 
and thou upon earth. Therefore let thy words be few. 

S For a dream cometh with much bustle, and a fool's voice 

4 with a multitude of words. When thou vowest a vow to 
God, delay not to pay it ; for he hath no pleasure in fools. 

5 Pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou 
shouldst not vow than that thou shouldst vow and not pay. 

6 Suffer not thy mouth to bring punishment on thy flesh, and 
say not before the angel, '' It was a mistake." Where- 
fore should God be angry on account of thy voice, and 

7 destroy the work of thy hands ? For in a multitude of 
dreams is a multitude of vanities ; so also in a multitude 
of words ; but fear thou God ! 

8 If thou seest oppression of the poor, and justice and 
equity perverted in a province, be not alarmed at the mat- 
ter. For over the high there is a higher, who watcheth, 

9 and there is one higlier than they all. An advantage to a 

10 land in all respects is a king over cultivated ground. He 
that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver ; and 
he that loveth riches shall have no profit from them. 

11 This also is vanity. When goods increase, they are in- 
creased that eat them ; and what advantage hath the owner 

12 thereof, save the beholding of them with his eyes ? Sweet 
is the sleep of a laboring man, whether he have eaten little 
or much ; but the repletion of the rich will not suffer him 

13 to sleep. There is a sore evil which I have seen under the 

14 sun, — riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt. For 
those riches perish by some calamity, and, if he have a 

15 son, there is nothing in his hand. As he came forth from 
his mother's womb naked, so shall he go away again, as 
he came, and shall take aw^ay nothing of his labor which 

16 he may carry in his hand. This is also a sore evil, that, 
in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit 



CHAP. VI.] ECCLESIASTES. 131 

17 is there to him who toileth for wind ? Also all his days 
he ate in darkness, and had much grief and anxiety and 

18 vexation. Behold, what I have seen is, that it is good and 
proper for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of 
all his labor which he taketh under the sun all the days 

19 of his life, which God giveth him ; for it is his portion. To 
whatever man also God hath given riches and wealth, and 
hath given him to enjoy them, and to take his portion, and 

20 to rejoice in his labor ; this is the gift of God. For he 
will not much remember the days of his life ; for God 
answereth him with the joy of his heart. 

1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and 

2 it lieth heavy upon men ; a man to w^hom God hath given 
riches, wealth, and honor, and nothing is wanting to him 
of all which he desireth, yet God giveth him not to taste 
thereof; but a stranger enjoyeth it. This is vanity, yea, 

3 a grievous evil. Though a man have a hundred children, 
and live many years, and though the days of his years be 
many, if his soul be not satisfied with good, and he have 
no burial, I say that an untimely birth is better than he. 

4 This, indeed, cometh in nothingness, and goeth down into 

5 darkness, and its name is covered with darkness ; it hath not 
seen the sun, nor known it; yet hath it rest rather than 

6 the other. Yea, though he live a thousand years twice 
told, and see no good, — do not all go to one place ? 

7 All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet his de- 

8 sires are not satisfied. For what advantage hath the wise 
man over the fool ? What advantage hath the poor, who 

9 knoweth how to walk before the living? Better is the 
sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire. This 
also is vanity, and striving after wind. 

10 That which is was long ago called by name ; and it w^as 
known that he is a man, and that he cannot contend with 

n Him who is mightier than he. Seeing there are many 
things which increase vanity, what advantage hath man 

12 [from them] ? For who knoweth what is good for man in 
life, in all the days of his vain life, which he spendeth as a 
shadow ? For who can tell a man what shall be after hiin 
under the sun ? 



132 ECCLESIASTES. [chap, vii 

1 A good name is better than precious perfume, and the 

2 day of one's death than the day of his birth. It is better 
to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of 
feasting; for that is the end of all men; and the living 

3 will lay it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter ; for 
by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 

4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning ; but 

5 the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better 
for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the 

6 song of fools. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, 

7 so is the laughter of a fool. This also is vanity. Surely 
the gain of oppression maketh a wise man foolish, and 

8 a gift corrupteth the understanding. Better is the end of a 
thing than its beginning. Better is the patient in spirit than 

9 the proud in spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry ; 
10 for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. Say not, '' What 

is the cause that the former days were better than these ? " 

H For thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this. Wisdom 

is as good as an estate ? yea, it hath an advantage over it 

12 for them tliat see the sun. For wisdom is a defence, and 
money is a defence. But knowledge hath the advantage. 

13 For wisdom giveth life to them that have it. Consider 
the work of God ! Who can make straight that w^hich 

14 he hath made crooked ? In the day of prosperity be joy- 
ful ; but look for a day of adversity ! for this also, as well 
as the other, hath God appointed, to the end that a man 
should not find out any thing which shall be after him. 

15 All this have I seen in my days of vanity. There are 
righteous men who perish in their righteousness, and there 

16 are wicked men who live long in their wickedness. Be 
not righteous overmuch ; neither make thyself over-wise ! 

17 Why shouldst thou destroy thyself? Be not overmuch 
wicked ; neither be thou a fool ! Why shouldst thou die 

18 before thy time ? It is good that thou shouldst take hold 
of this ; yea, also, from that withdraw not thy hand. For 

19 he that feareth God shall escape all those things. Wis- 
dom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men 

20 who are in the city. Truly there is not a righteous man 

21 upon the earth who doeth good and sinneth not. Give no 
heed to all the words which are spoken, lest thou hear thy 

22 servant curse thee! For many times thine own heart 



CHAP. VIII.] ECCLESIASTES. 133 

knoweth also that even thou thyself hast cursed others. 

23 All this have I tried by wisdom. I said, " I will be 

24 wise ; " but it was far from me. That which is far off 
and exceeding deep, who can find it out? 

25 I applied my mind earnestly to know, and to search, 
and to seek out wisdom and intelligence, and to know 

26 wickedness and folly, yea, foolishness and madness. And 
I found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is 
snares and nets, and her hands bands. He that pleaseth 
God shall escape from her ; but the sinner shall be caught 

27 by her. Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, 

28 putting one thing to another to find knowledge. That 
which my soul hath hitherto sought, and I have not found, 
is this : a man among a thousand I have found, but a 

29 woman among a thousand have I not found. Lo, this only 
have I found, that God made man upright, but they have 
sought out many devices. 

1 Who is like the wise man, and who knoweth the expla- 
nation of a thing? A man's wisdom brighteneth his 
countenance, and the harshness of his face is changed. 

2 I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and tha»t 

3 on account of the oath of God. Be not in haste to depart 
from his presence ; persist not in an evil thing ; for what- 

4 ever pleaseth him, that he doeth. For the word of the 
king is powerful ; and who can say to him, " What doest 

5 thou ? " He that keepeth the commandment shall experi- 
ence no evil ; and the heart of the wise man hath regard 

6 to time and judgment. For to every thing there is a time 
and judgment. For the misery of man is great upon him. 

7 For no one knoweth what shall be ; for who can tell him 

8 how it shall be ? No man hath power over the spirit to 
retain the spirit, and no man hath power over the day of 
death ; and there is no discharge in that war ; and wicked- 
ness shall not deliver those that are guilty of it. 

w All this have I seen, and I have given heed to all things 
that are done under the sun. There is a time when man 

10 ruleth over man to his hurt. And so I saw the wicked 
buried, while the righteous came and went from the holy 
place, and were forgotten in the city. This also is van- 

11 Because sentence against an evil work is not execute! 



134 ECCLESIASTES. [chap. ix. 

speedily, therefore doth the heart of the sons of men be- 

12 come bold within them to do evil. But though a sinner 
do evil a hundred times, and have his days prolonged, yet 
surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear 

13 God, that fear before him. But it shall not be well with 
the wicked : he shall be like a shadow, and shall not pro- 
long his days, because he feareth not before God. 

14 There is a vanity which taketh place upon the earth, 
that there are righteous men to whom it happeneth ac- 
cording to the work of the wicked, and that there are 
wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work 

15 of the righteous. I said, " This also is vanity ! " Then 
I commended joy ; because nothing is good for a man 
under the sun, except to eat and to drink and to be joy- 
ful ; for it is this that abideth with him for his labor 
during the days of his life which God giveth him under 
the sun. 

16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom, and to see 
the business which is done upon the earth, — that one 

17 seeth no sleep with his eyes by day or by ni-^Lt, — then I 
saw the whole work of God, that a man ca'Jjiot compre- 
hend that which is done under the sun ; hov/ much soever 
he labor to search it out, yet shall he not c jmprehend it ; 
yea, though a wise man resolve to know it, yet shall he 
not be able to comprehend it. 

1 For I gave my mind to all this, even to search out all 
this, that the righteous and the wise and their works are 
in the hand of God, and yet neither his love nor hatred 

2 doth any man know. All is before them. All [cometh to 
them] as to all. There is one event to the righteous and to 
the wicked ; to the good, to the clean, and to the unclean ; 
to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not ; as 
is the good, so is the sinner ; he that sweareth, as he that 

3 feareth an oath. This is an evil amon<y all thino^s which 
take place under the sun, that there is one e\ent to all ; 
therefore also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, 
and madness is in their heart while they live, and after- 

4 ward they go down to the dead. For who in there that is 
excepted ? With all the living there is hope ; for a living 

5 dog is better than a dead lion. For the-Uving iaiow that 



CHAP. X.] ECCLESIASTES. 135 

thej shall die ; but the dead know not any thing, and 
there is no more to them any advantage, for their memory 

6 is forgotten. Their love also, and their hatred, and their 
envy, is now perished ; neither have they a portion any 
more for ever in any thing which taketh place under the 
sun. 

7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine 
with a cheerful heart; for long since hath God been 

8 pleased with thy works. Let thy garments be always 
white, and let not fragrant oil be wanting upon thy head. 

9 Enjoy life with the wife whom thou lovest, all the days 
of thy vain life which he hath given thee under the sun, 
all thy vain days. For this is thy portion in life, and in 
thy labor with which thou weariest thyself under the sun. 

10 Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ! 
For there is no work nor device nor knowledge nor wis- 
dom in the under-world, whither thou goest. 

11 I turned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to 
the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor yet bread to the 
wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men 
of knowledge ; but time and chance happen to them all. 

12 For man knoweth not his time. As fishes that are taken 
in a destructive net, and as birds that are caught in a 
snare, so are the sons of men snared in a time of distress, 
when it falleth suddenly upon them. 

13 This also have I seen ; even wisdom under the sun, and 

14 it seemed great to me. There was a little city, and few 
men within it; and a great king came against it, and 

15 besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. Now 
there was found within it a wise poor man ; and he, by 
his wisdom, delivered the city ; yet no man remembered 

16 that same poor man. Then said I, " Wisdom is better 
than strength ; " and yet the poor man's wisdom is des- 

17 pised, and his words are not h'eard. The quiet words of 
the wise are sooner heard than the shouting of a foolish 

18 ruler. Wisdom is better than weapons of war. But one 

1 offender destroy eth much good. Dead flies make tlie oil 
of the perfumer loathsome and corrupt ; thus doth a little 

2 folly weigh down wisdom and honor. A wise man's mind 

3 is at his right hand; but a fool's mind is at Ms- left. Yea, 



136 ECCLESIASTES. [chap. xi. 

even when the fool walketh in the way, his understanding 
faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool. 

4 If the anger of a ruler rise up against thee, leave not 

5 thy place ! for gentleness pacifieth great offences. There 
is an evil which I have seen under the sun ; an error 

6 which proceedeth from a ruler. Folly is set in many high 

7 stations, and the noble sit in a low place. I have seen 
servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants on 

8 foot. He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it ; and whoso 

9 breaketh down a wall, a serpent shall bite him. Whoso 
removeth stones shall be hurt therewith, and he that 

10 cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby. If the iron 
be blunt, and one do not whet the edge, then must he put 
forth more strength; but an advantage for giving success 

11 hath wisdom. If a serpent bite before he is charmed, then 

12 there is no advantage to the charmer. The words of a 
wise man's mouth are gracious ; but the lips of a fool are 

13 his destruction. The beginning of the words of his mouth 
is folly, and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. 

14 A fool also multiplieth words, though no man knoweth 
what shall be ; and who can tell him what shall be after 

15 him ? The labor of the foolish man wearieth him, because 

16 he knoweth not how to go to the city. Woe to thee, O 
land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes feast in the 

17 morning ! Happy thou, O land, when thy king is a noble, 
and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for 

18 drunkenness ! By much slothfulness the building decay- 
eth ; and by the slackness of the hands the house leaketh. 

19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry ; but 

20 money answereth all things. Curse not the king ; no, not 
in thy thought ; and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber ! 
for a bird of the air shall carry the voice ; and that which 
hath wings shall tell the matter. 

1 Cast thy bread upon the waters ; for after many days 

2 thou shalt find it. Give a portion to seven, yea, to eight ; 
. for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. 

3 When the clouds are full of rain, they empty upon the 
earth ; and when a tree faileth to the south or the north, 

4 in the place where the tree faileth, there it shall be. He 
that watcheth the wind will not sow, and he that gazeth 

6 upon the clouds will not reap. As thou knowest not the 



CHAP. XII.] ECCLESIASTES. 137 

way of the wind, nor how the bones are formed in the 
womb of her that is with chihi, so thou canst not know 

6 the work of God, who doeth all things. In the morning 
sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand ! 
For thou knowest not whether this shall prosper, or that, 
or whether both of them shall be alike good. 

7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for 

8 the eyes to behold the sun. Yea, though a man live many 
years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him think of 
the days of darkness ; for they shall be many. All that 

9 Cometh is vanity. Eejoice, O young man, in thy youth, 
and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and 
walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine 
eyes ! but know thou, that for all these things God will 

10 bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from 
thy heart, and put away evil from thy body ! for childhood 
and youth are vanity. 

1 Remember, also, thy Creator in the days of thy youth, 
before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, of 
which thou shalt say, " I have no pleasure in them ; '' 

2 before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars 

3 become dark, and the clouds return after the rain ; at the 
time when the keepers of the house tremble, and the 
strong men bow themselves, and the grinders cease be- 
cause they are few, and those that look out of the windows 

4 are darkened ; when the doors are shut in the streets, 
while the sound of the mill is low ; w^hen they rise up at 
the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music are 

5 brought low ; when also they are afraid of that which is 
high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is des- 
pised, and the locust is a burden, and the caper-berry is 
powerless ; since man goeth to his eternal home, and the 

6 mourners go about the streets ; — before the silver cord 
be snapped asunder, and the golden bowl be crushed, or 
the bucket broken at the fountain, or the wheel shattered 

7 at the well, and the dust return to the earth as it was, and 
the spirit return to God who gave it. 

8 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher ; all is vanity ! 

9 Moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still 
taught the people knowledge ; yea, he considered, and 

10 sought out, and set in order, many proverbs. The 



138 ECCLESIASTES. [chap. xii. 

Preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and to write 

11 correctly words of truth. The words of the wise are 
as goads ; yea, as nails driven in are the words of mem- 

12 bers of assemblies, given by one shepherd. And, more- 
over, by these, my son, be warned ! To the multiplying 
of books there is no end, and much study wearieth the 

13 flesh. Let us hear the end of the whole discourse ! Fear 
God and keep his commandments ! For this is the duty 

14 of every man. For God will bring every work into the 
judgment which there is upon every secret thing, whether 
it be good, or whether it be evil. 



THE CANTICLES, 

OB 

THE SONG OF SONGS, 



BY SOLOMON. 



INTRODUCTION TO THE CANTICLES. 



The title of this book could not have been prefixed to it by its 
author. The Song of Songs is undoubtedly an instance of the 
Hebrew superlative, meaning the finest or most beautiful of songs. 
It is, moreover, improbable that the title implies a comparison of 
the work with other poetry written by Solomon. The meaning 
of the person who gave the book its title was, that it contained 
the most beautiful of songs, and that Solomon was its author. 

The first and most interesting question that presents itself in 
relation to this work is. What is its subject? If the Song of 
Songs had been found in any book except the Bible, I presume 
there would have been great unanimity in answering the question. 
It would be said that few compositions existed, every line of which 
revealed so fully the subject occupying the mind of the author. 
It would be said that one sentiment pervaded the whole, and 
that that sentiment was love. In fact, there is now no dispute 
respecting the subject of the book, so far as it can be expressed 
in a single word. It is allowed by all to be love, reciprocal love. 
The question is, What kind of love is here represented? Is it 
spiritual, or is it sentimental love ; that is, the love of the sexes, 
as represented in poetry ? Is it that love which exists between 
God and man, or Christ and the Church ; or that which exists 
between man and woman? 

Since the time of Origen, the opinion has prevailed, that the 
work is designed to set forth the mutual love of Christ and the 
Church. This distinguished allegorist exerted his great talents, 
as we are informed by St. Jerome,* in illustrating the book. In 
his other works, says he, Origen surpassed other men ; in this he 

* Opera, torn. ii. p. 807, edit. Martianay. 

[141] 



142 INTRODUCTION TO 

surpassed himself; so that in him may seem to have been fulfilled 
that which is said, " The king has led me to his chamber." The 
unbounded influence of Origen gave the allegorical interpretation 
prevalence in the Church ; so that, when Theodore of Mopsuestia, 
a man of great learning and talent, defended the literal sense of 
the Canticles, he was excommunicated for this and other causes 
after his death, by an assembly of fanatical bishops and monks, 
the second council of Constantinople, in the year 553.* 

Since the time of the condemnation of Theodore, the prevalent 
belief of Christendom has been, that the book contains a repre- 
sentation of the mutual love of Christ and the Church. This 
would seem to be the most general view at the present day, if 
we may judge of the opinion of the Christian Church by what is 
expressed in the popular commentaries. It is contained in the 
captions to the chapters in the common version. 

Among the modern Jews, too, the allegorical sense of the book 
has prevailed, according to which it has been supposed to set 
forth the dealings of God with the Jewish people. Thus, the 
Targumist on this book applies it to Jehovah and the Jewish 
nation, in their journeyings from Egypt to the land^ of Canaan. 

As the mystical interpretation of this book commenced and 
advanced with the general prevalence and progress of the alle- 
gorical mode of interpretation, so it has declined in proportion as 
that mode of interpretation has been understood to be without 
foundation. Since the time of Grotius, the prevailing opinion of 
the learned critics who have examined the work has been, that the 
subject of it is not spiritual or religious love, but that which 
exists between man and woman. 

The peculiar view of Grotius has found few supporters. He 
supposes the book to contain a dialogue between newly married 
persons, in which very gross ideas are veiled by decent expres- 
sions.! But since his time, — that is, since the principle of inter- 

* See Rosenmiilleri Historia Interpretationis, vol. iii. pp. 251 and 262. 

t *'Est bapiarvQ (i.e. garritus conjugum inter se) inter Salomonem et 
fiham regis Egypti, interloquentibus etiam choris duobus, turn juvenum turn 
virginum, qui in proximis thalamo locis excubabant. Nuptiarum arcana 
sub honestis verborum involucris hie latent; quae etiam causa est curHebraei 
veteres hunc librum legi noluerint, nisi a jam conjugio proximis." 



THE CANTICLES. 143 

pretation has been generally acknowledged, that language can 
have no other meaning than that which exists in the mind of the 
writer, — the mystical sense has been given up by most critics on 
the Continent, and by many in England ; such as Michaelis, Her- 
der, Eichhorn, Doderlein, Dathe, Seiler, Jahn, De Wette, Um- 
breit, Ewald, Heiligstedt, Hitzig, and many others. In England, 
the distinguished Methodist, Adam Clarke ; the Calvinistic dis- 
senter, John Pye Smith ; and the Biblical translator. Dr. Booth- 
royd, who is also an Orthodox dissenter, — have also abandoned 
the mystical explanation. 

There are those, however, in modern times, who yet hold fast 
the allegorical interpretation. Among these is the Romanist 
Hug, who supposes the book to be of a political nature. Under 
the image of a spouse, as he thinks, is set forth a part of the ten 
tribes, which, being left in their country after the destruction of 
Samaria, sought to be re-united to the Jewish nation under the 
reign of Hezekiah. The Jews, represented by the brothers of 
the Shulamite, are unwilling that the union should take place. 

Rosenmiiller adopts the theory, that the work sets forth the 
love of Solomon for wisdom. It is not a little remarkable, 
however, that while Rosenmiiller avows this to be his view in 
the introduction to his commentary on the book, he makes not 
the slightest allusion to it in the commentary itself, extensive as 
it is. 

In England, Bishop Percy and John Mason Good avow their 
belief in the mystical interpretation. Like Rosenmiiller, however, 
they do not apply their theory to the interpretation of the book, 
but comment upon it as if the literal were the only sense. 

In this country, the old notion, that the book sets forth the 
mutual love of Christ and the Church, is probably the most preva- 
lent. But Professor Robinson, in his Bible Dictionary, adopts 
the view, that the subject of the book is the mutual love of Jeho- 
vah and the Jewish nation. 

Professor Stuart, of Andover, has also avowed his faith in the 
mystical exposition of the Canticles, in his hasty work on the 
canon of the Old Testament. He has adopted the view, that 
the subject of the book is the relation of God to the individual 
soul, and the aspirations of the soul to be united to the Creator. 



144 INTRODUCTION TO 

I might mention several other theories. But it would answei 
no good purpose, as I do not intend to examine them one by one, 
in order to show which is the most, or the least, tenable. I 
believe that there is not the slightest foundation for any one of 
them ; that not one of them can be accepted, without setting at 
defiance all just views of the nature of language, and all solid 
principles of interpretation. 

The decisive objection, which applies in nearly an equal degree 
to all these theories, is, that there is no mention, or even intima- 
tion, in the work itself, of that which they make its great and 
principal subject. These interpreters tell us, that the work ex- 
presses the mutual love of Jehovah and the Hebrew nation, or of 
Christ and the Church, or of God and the individual soul. In 
opposition to this, it is enough to say, that it is mere fancy ; that 
there is not the slightest allusion to God, to Christ, to the Church, 
or to the soul of man as related to God, in the whole book. The 
only persons introduced into it are# human. There is not a sen- 
tence, or part of a sentence, which, according to the common use 
of language, expresses any religious idea. This with me is the 
decisive consideration. The author has in no way indicated that 
he uses language in any but the obvious and usual sense. In all 
allegory, it is necessary that the principal subject should be in 
some way indicated. If allegory is a long-continued comparison, 
it is necessary that the author should decidedly make known to 
us the subject compared. But in the Book of Canticles this is 
not the case. The principal subject, as understood by the alle- 
gorists, does not appear in it. The book is all comparison, and 
nothing to be compared ; all illustration, and nothing to be illus- 
trated. The thing to be illustrated comes from without, — from 
the mind of the interpreter, arbitrarily imposing a sense on the 
author's w^ords in consequence of some imagined necessity, which 
is wholly independent of any thing in the work itself. In the 
parable of the Prodigal Son, who would have known that it was 
intended to illustrate the disposition of God towards men, unless 
our Saviour had indicated such an application of it ? So in the 
allegory of the Vine which came out of Egypt, it is expressly 
stated, **The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of 
Israel." So every writer of common sense, who makes use of 



THE CANTICLES. 145 

metaphor, comparison, or allegory, will in some way indicate the 
principal subject to be illustrated. But it is not pretended that 
the author of the Canticles has done this. The only just conclu- 
sion, then, is, that he has not made use of allegory ; that he de- 
signed his language to be understood in its common and obvious 
sense. 

It has been said, in favor of the mystical interpretation, that in 
other writers of the Scriptures language similar to that in the Can- 
ticles is used; that Jehovah is called the husband of his people, 
and the people represented as a faithless wife. Now, without 
stating at present how small is the resemblance between the 
Canticles and the comparisons just referred to, there is one 
obvious difference which deprives this reference to such com- 
parisons of any force as an argument. It is, that the subject 
compared is always prominent in those illustrations of the He- 
brew prophets. Thus, in Isa. liv. 5, *'Thy Maker is thy husband ; 
Jehovah of hosts is his name." Such illustrations, therefore, if 
they resembled the language in the Canticles much more than they 
do, would only show how its language might have been, not how it 
is, used. Because an adulterous woman, in the writings of the 
prophets, represents the Jewish people in their rebellion against 
Jehovah, it surely does not follow that every woman or maiden in 
the Scriptures does, or may, denote the Jewish people. Because a 
tender husband sometimes denotes a compassionate God in rela- 
tion to his people, it surely does not follow that every husband or 
lover in the Scriptures denotes the Supreme Being. Because the 
Church is compared to a chaste virgin, it does not follow that 
every virgin denotes the Church. Before we can admit that any 
writer intends to denote the Supreme Being by such expressions, he 
must himself indicate it by express declaration or intelligible impli- 
cation, as the prophets have done in the cases to which reference 
has been made. ISTow, the author of the Canticles has not inti- 
mated to us in any way, that in his songs he had in view any 
other characters than man and woman, or any other kind of love 
than human or sentimental love. We have no right, then, to go 
beyond this meaning. Those who have adduced this illustration 
from the prophets have at best only shown what might be, not 
what i>. There is no part of the Old Testament, or at least no 

7 



146 INTRODUCTION TO 

difficult part, which may not be allegorized with as much reason 
as the Canticles. 

But, in the second place, I deny that the language of the 
prophets, in the eases referred to, is at all analogous to that 
of the Canticles. Those passages in the prophets which set 
forth the ingratitude of the house of Israel to Jehovah under the 
image of a wife faithless to a tender husband, are wholly unlike 
any thing in the Book of Canticles. In the former, the Supreme 
Being always appears as Jehovah, the most holy governor of the 
world, the comparison being used incidentally to illustrate his 
own conduct or that of his people. In the latter, we find only 
lovers and maidens ; the praise of personal beauty and passionate 
expressions of love ; lovers conversing with each other, placed in 
different scenes, eating, drinking, sleeping, embracing, running, 
climbing, visiting gardens, feeding flocks ; in fine, all that is 
usually found in erotic poetry. Who can fail to perceive the 
difference between such representations and any views which 
the sublime Hebrew prophets give of the character and conduct 
of God? 

It seems to me wholly inconsistent with the reverence for 
Jehovah which existed in the Hebrew mind, that one of their 
writers should compose such a book as Canticles to illustrate the 
feelings which should exist between man and his Creator. It is a 
monstrous supposition. There is nothing in the Hebrew literature 
to justify it. Who is there among us that would dare to use much 
of the language of the Canticles in reference to the high and lofly 
One that inhabiteth eternity? Had not the Jews as great a 
reverence for the venerable name as Christians ? Let us conceive 
of the author of the fortieth chapter of Isaiah — after he had 
spoken of the Supreme Being as having '* measured the waters in 
the hollow of his hand, and meted out the heavens with his span, 
and gathered the dust of the earth into a measure, and weighed 
the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance," as the Being 
"before whom all nations are nothing, and accounted less than 
nothing and vanity" — as addressing himself to his devotions. 
Would he have commenced with, '' Let him kiss me with one of 
the kisses of his mouth"; for thy caresses are better than wine"? 
Would he have applied to the Supreme Being the language, **My 



THE CANTICLES. 147 

beloved spake and said unto me, * Rise up, my love, my fair one, 
and come away' ''? Would Solomon, who, in his prayer at the 
dedication of the temple, used the sublime language, *' Behold, 
the heaven, even the heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee,^' 
have addressed his Creator in the language, **The voice of my 
beloved ! Behold, he cometh, leaping upon the mountains, bound- 
ing over the hills. Like a gazelle is my beloved, or a young 
hind," &c. ? I might proceed with interrogations of this kind ; 
but there is language in the Canticles which I could not apply to 
the Infinite Spirit in the manner required by the mystical theory, 
without feeling guilty of blasphemy. 

In support of the mystical interpretation of the Canticles, 
reference has been made to the pantheistic mysticism of the reli- 
gious sect called Sufis, which has long existed in the East, and 
especially to the songs of Hafiz, a Persian writer of the fourteenth 
century, who has been supposed to teach mystic religious doc- 
trines under the images of love, wine, &c. But it is doubtful 
whether Hafiz himself attached a religious meaning to many of 
his songs. It is certain, that most of them relate only to senti- 
mental love. Umbreit, who appears to have given considerable 
attention to the subject, says, **The love-poems of Nisami, 
Leila and Medsclmun, and Jussuf and Suleicha, have been ex- 
plained allegorically, although, according to the evident intention 
of the poet, they require a literal interpretation."* Sir William 
Jones observes, "It has been made a question, whether the 
poems of Hafiz must be taken in a literal or in a figurative sense ; 
but the question does not admit of a general and direct answer : 
for even the most enthusiastic of his commentators allow that 
some of them are to be taken literally."! The *' Conversations- 
Lexicon," or ** Encyclopaedia Americana," which may be supposed 
to represent the opinion of the learned in Germany, says, "The 
songs of Hafiz were collected into a divan, afler his death, which 
was published complete (Calcutta, 1791) and translated into Ger- 
man by the celebrated Orientalist, Yon Hammer (2 vols. Stutt- 
gard, 1812-1815). The poems of Hafiz are distinguished for 

* See Umbreit's Lied der Liebe, p. 6. 
"I Asiatic Researches, vol. ill. p. 1 72. 



148 INTRODUCTION TO 

sprightllness and Anacreontic festivity. He is not unfrequently 
loud in praise of wine, love, and pleasure. Some writers have 
souglit a mystic meaning in these verses, Feridoun, Sururi, Sadi, 
and others, have attempted to explain what they supposed to be 
the hidden sense." 

Before what appear to be love-songs in any nation can afford 
any confirmation of a mystical sense in the Canticles, it must be 
shown that there are some intimations in them that their sensual 
expressions are designed as images of spiritual things. If this 
cannot be shown, it is reasonable to conclude that they have no 
allegoric meaning. But if there are in them decided intima- 
tions of a spiritual meaning, then they are unlike the Song of 
Solomon. 

In the literature of several nations, an allegorical sense has 
been given to the productions of distinguished poets by their ad- 
mirers. The Iliad of Homer, the songs of Hafiz, and the Canti- 
cles ascribed to Solomon, have met with the same fortune. From 
the allegorical use of them made in an age subsequent to that in 
which they were written, we cannot infer what was the original 
design and meaning of either. 

I have no disposition to deny, however, that among the pro- 
ductions of the Sufi poets aj:'e found poems in which sensual 
images are used for the purpose of expressing devotional feelings. 
This might be expected from the obscene symbols of the Sufi 
religion, as described by Tholuck. *'Voluptatem ex unione [i.e. 
cum Deo] captam, turpem adsciscentes figuram, assimilaverunt 
cum coitu maris et feminae, praeeuntibus Indis quorum in Upnek- 
hato, t. i. p. 241, conjunctio mystica cum Deo comparatur cum 
concubitu mulieris praedilectae, inter quem nulla in mariti animo 
firma cogitatio permaneat aut imaginationis species, sed universse 
sensuum animique vires immersae sint in suavissimam jucunditatis 
commotionem.'" * 

I do not profess a thorough acquaintance with these writings. 
But, having examined the specimens found in the writings of Sir 
William Jones, and in Tholuck's Selections! from the mystic poets 

* Tholuck's Ssufismus, p. 94. 

t Bliithensammlung aus der Morgenlandischen Mystik, von F. A. G. 
Tholuck. BerHn, 1825. 



THE CANTICLES. 1 i9 

of the East, I am convinced that none of them bear much resem- 
blance to the Canticles. They are evidently productions of a 
different nature, and connected with a religion as different from 
the Jewish as darkness from light. 

Among the specimens most favorable to the opinion of those 
who form their judgment of the nature of a Hebrew poem from 
the productions of mystic Sufi pantheists or the songs of Mahome- 
tan dervishes, are the two given by Mr. Lane in his work on the 
** Modern Egyptians," contained in the Library of Entertaining 
Knowledge. These specimens I shall quote entire for the satis- 
faction of the reader, the more especially because they appear to 
have had great influence on the mind of Professor Stuart, and are 
quoted by him as the principal support of the opinion which he 
adopts, that the Canticles ** express the warm and earnest desire 
of the soul after God, in language borrowed from that which char- 
acterizes chaste affection between the sexes." 

** The durweesh," says Mr. Lane,* '* pointed out the following 
poem as one of those most common at zikrs, and as one which was 
sung at the zikr, which I have begun to describe. I translate it 
verse for verse, and imitate the measure and system of rhyme of 
the original, with this difference only, that the first, third, and fifth 
lines of each stanza rhyme with each other in the original, but not 
in my translation : — 

" ' With love my heart is troubled, 

And mine eyelid hindereth sleep: 
My vitals are dissevered, 

While with streaming tears I weep. 
My union seems far distant : 
« Will my love e'er meet my eye ? 
Alas ! did not estrangement 

Draw my tears, I would not sigh. 

By dreary nights I 'm wasted: 

Absence makes my hope expire: 
My tears, like pearls, are dropping; 

And my heart is wrapt in fire. 
Whose is like my condition ? 

Scarcely know I remedy. 
Alas ! did not estrangement 

Draw my tears, I would not sigh. 

* Modern Egyptians, vol. ii. p. 195. 



150 INTRODUCTION TO 

turtle-dove ! acquaint me, 

Wherefore thus dost thou lament ? 
Art thou so stung by absence ? 

Of thy wings deprived and pent? 
He saith, "Our griefs are equal; * 

Wora away with love, I lie.'* 
Alas ! did not estrangement 

Draw my tears, I would not sigh. 

First and Everlasting ! 

Show thy favor yet to me ; 
Thy slave, Ahh'mad El-Bek'ree* 

Hath no Lord excepting thee. 
By Ta'-ha^,t the great prophet ! 

Do thou not his wish deny. 
Alas ! did not estrangement 

Draw my tears, I would not sigh.' '* 

** I must translate a few more lines," says Mr. Lane, ** to show 
more strongly the similarity of these songs to that of Solomon ; 
and, lest it should be thought that I have varied the expressions, 
I shall not attempt to render them into verse. In the same col- 
lection ' of poems sung at zikrs is one which begins with these 
lines : — 

" ' gazelle from among the gazelles of El-Yem'en ! 
I am thy slave without cost : 
O thou small of age, and fresh of skin ! 
O thou who art scarce past the time of drinking milk ! * 

** In the first of these verses, we have a comparison exactly- 
agreeing with that in the concluding verse of Solomon's Song; 
for the word which, in our Bible, is translated ^ *roe' is used 
in Arabic as synonymous with ghaza'l (or a gazelle) ; and the 
mountains of El-Yem'en are * the mountains of spices.' This 
poem ends with the following lines : — 

" * The phantom of thy form visited me in slumber; 
I said, " phantom of slumber! who sent thee? " 
He said, '' He sent me whom thou knowest; 
He whose love occupies thee.'* 

* The author of the poem. f A name of Mahomet. 



THE CANTICLES. 151 

The beloved of mv heart visited me in the darkness of night; 

I stood, to show him honor, until he sat down. 

I said, " thou my petition, and all my desire ! 

Hast thou come at midnight, and not feared the watchmen? '* 

He said to me, "I feared; but, however, love 

Had taken from me my soul and my breath." * 

Compare the above with the second and five following verses of 
the fifth chapter of Solomon's Song." 

Now, as to the first of these religious love-songs of the Mahom- 
etan dervishes, whatever slight resemblance it may have to any 
part of the Canticles, it differs essentially from any of them in the 
circumstance, that the Supreme Being is expressly introduced as 
the object of worship. Without this essential circumstance, no 
one could tell whether it were originally composed for a love-song, 
or a religious hymn expressing a longing for a union of the soul 
with God, according to the Sufi philosophy and religion. 

In the second poem, quoted by Mr. Lane, it is to be regretted 
that he did not quote the whole of it. For I can by no means 
admit the circumstance that it was sung by the dervishes in their 
morning devotions to be conclusive in regard to the original design 
of the hymn. Mr. Lane expressly tells us, in a note, that he 
Tound the last six lines inserted, with some slight alterations, as 
a common love-song, in a portion of the *' Thousand and One 
Nights," printed at Calcutta, vol. i. p. 425 ; Lane's Translation, 
ii. p. 349. Whether the whole was originally composed as a 
love-song or a devotional hymn does not appear from the parts of 
it which Mr. Lane gives us. If, in the parts omitted, there is any 
clear reference to the Deity, it is unlike any of the Canticles. If 
there is no such reference, the meaning of the hymn is too doubtful 
to allow any inference to be drawn from it. For we might as well 
allow the singing of Dr. Watts's version of the Canticles to be an 
argument for their original design, as to admit the singing of the 
mystic dervishes to be an evidence of the original design of the 
hymns, which they sung. 

Before making some general remarks on this whole subject of 
attempting to show the character of the Canticles by reference to 
the pantheistic poetry of the Mahometan Sufis, it may be well 
to mention that reference has been made even to the poets of Hin- 



152 INTRODUCTION TO 

dostan for the same purpose; especially to the Gitagovmda,* the 
production of a celebrated Hindoo poet, named Jayadeva. This 
appears to be a mystical poem, designed to celebrate the loves of 
Crishna and Radha, or the reciprocal attraction between the Divine 
goodness and the human soul. Now, whatever may be the resem- 
blance between the Gitagovinda and the Canticles in some of their 
imagery, there is this essential difference, that, in the former, 
Crishna was the chief incarnated god of the Hindoos ; f and that 
there are in it references to other gods, and to various superstitions 
of the Hindoo mythology, whilst in the Canticles there is no refer- 
ence to any but human characters. Besides, the author of the 
Gitagovinda clearly intimates its religious character in the conclu- 
sion of the poem. 

We have seen, then, that there are material differences between 
the Canticles and the religious love-songs to which reference has 
been made. But, supposing the resemblance to be much greater 
than it is, those mystical songs do not in any essential respect re- 
semble the Canticles more than they do the odes of Anacreon, or 
some of the eclogues of Virgil, and the idyls of Theocritus. And 
it is not easy to see why the resemblance does not prove the re- 
ligious character of the odes of Anacreon as much as that of tl^ 
Canticles. 

But, after all, the great objection remains to any conclusion 
drawn from the pantheistic mystic poets, whether of Persia or 
India, whether Mahometans or Hindoos ; namely, that their pro- 
ductions are founded on a religion and philosophy entirely differ- 
ent from the Jewish. The Canticles are productions of a different 
country, and separated from any of the songs of the Sufi poets by 
an interval of nearly two thousand years. The Jewish religion 

* It may be found appended to Dr. Adam Clarke's Commentary on the 
Canticles. Also in the Asiatic Researches, vol. iii. 

t " Crishna continues to this hour the darling god of the Indian women. 
The sect of Hindoos, who adore him with enthusiastic and almost exclusive 
devotion, have broached a doctrine which they maintain with eagerness, and 
which seems general in these provinces ; that he was distinct from all the 
Avatars^ who had only an ansa or portion of his divinity; while Crishna was 
the person of Vishnu himself in a human form." — Sir W. Jones, in Asiatic 
Researches, vol. i. p. 260. 



THE CANTICLES. 153 

has Jiothing in common with the pantheistic mysticism on which 
those songs are founded. There is nothing in the Old Testament 
of a similar character. If any productions similar to those mystical 
love-songs had existed in the religious literature of the Hebrews, 
undoubtedly we should have found some of them in the Book of 
Psalms, which comprises compositions from the age preceding that 
of David to a period long after the return of the Jews from the 
captivity at Babylon. But in the most fervent psalms, the forty- 
second for instance, nothing of the kind is found. IN'either is any 
thing similar to these mystic songs ascribed to the Jewish sects, as 
described by Josephus and Philo. !N^othing of the kind is laid to 
the charge of the Essenes. It is needless to say that nothing ap- 
proaching to a like character is found in the New Testament. 
Nothing similar is discovered even in the allegorical paraphrase of 
the Targumist* on the Canticles. All those religious love-songs 
are founded on the Sufi religion, or rather religious philosophy, 
which, whether it was borrowed from India, as Von Hammer sup- 
poses, or arose independently among the Mahometans, according 
to the opinion of Tholuck,t has no connection with, or resemblance 
to, the Jewish. It is as different from the latter as darkness from 
light. The argument, therefore, which is drawn from the mystical 
songs of the Mahometan devotees for ascribing a mystical character 
to the Canticles is without foundation. 

To me also it appears singular, that any one should think it to 
be for the honor of the book, or of the Jewish religion, or of the 
Bible, to regard the Canticles as designed to be a book of devo- 
tion, a guide to the Jews in the expression of their religious feel- 
ings to their Creator. If it be regarded as a specimen of the erotic 
poetry of the Hebrews, it will be treated with indifference by most 
readers, and consequently do them no harm. But, if regarded as 
an inspired model and help for devotion, its direct tendency is in- 
jurious to morals and religion. That such is its tendency, when 
so understood, is too plain to need argument. Even Professor 
Stuart, who professes to believe it an inspired composition, de- 

* The Targum on Solomon's Song may be found translated, appended to 
Dr. Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Canticles, 
t Tholuck's Ssufismus, etc., cap. ii. 

7* 



154 INTRODUCTION TO 

signed **to express the warm and ardent desire of the soul after 
God," is compelled by his moral feelings to express the strangely 
inconsistent opinion, that "it is the safer and better course to place 
the Canticles, as the Jews did, among the S'^t^-?, or books with- 
drawn from ordinary use ; " and, again, that those who neglect to 
read the book *' are to be commended rather than blamed."* He 
attempts, indeed, to show that what would be dangerous to us in 
the Western world might be safe for the Orientals, on account of 
the secluded state in which females were kept among them. But 
it is not easy to see why sensual imagery should have less influence 
on the imagination and feelings of an Oriental on account of any 
difference between Eastern and Western society, or why the lan- 
guage of love-songs, used as the vehicle of devotion, should have 
less influence to corrupt and debase the religion of an Asiatic than 
of an American. It seems to be atjeast probable, that what could 
not with decency be sung in a mixed assembly in this country was 
never designed by Heaven to be sung or said as a religious exer- 
cise in any country. On general principles, I should suppose that 
the safety was on the side of the colder temperament of the West- 
ern world, and that the freer social intercourse between the sexes 
in the West was less likely to inflame the imagination and the pas- 
sions than that guarded seclusion of females through which they 
are presented to the mind only as objects of sensual love. 

It may be that some of the Sufi devotees sing their religious 
love-songs with devotional feelings. But that the tendency of 
such a mode of worship is bad is almost self-evident. No one can 
be surprised when Professor Tholuck, who in general gives the 
most favorable aspect of the Oriental mysticism, informs us con- 
cerning the dissoluteness and sensuality of the dervishes and 
Sufis, whose devotional exercises consist of language and images 
borrowed from sensual love, *'Proinde, si quae dissolutions vitae, 
quin etiam veneris promiscuse criminationes adversus Derwischios 
et Ssufios factae sunt, earum me repellendarum equidem hand 
parem crederem."! 

* Stuart on the Canon, &c., p. 381. 

t See Tholuck's Ssufismus, sivo Theosophia Persarum Pantheistica, etc., 
Berlin, 1821. p. 88. 



THE CANTICLES. 155 

On the injurious effect of a religious use of the Canticles, the 
testimony of Dr. Adam Clarke, who as a travelling Methodist 
preacher had great opportunities for observation relating to the 
subject, is as follows. Speaking of those who attach a spiritual 
meaning to the book, he says: ''Their conduct is dangerous; 
and the result of their well-intentioned labors has been of very 
little service to the cause of Christianity in general, or to the 
interests of true morality in particular. By their mode of inter- 
pretation, an undignified, not to say mean and carnal, language 
has been propagated among many well-meaning religious people, 
that has associated itself too much with selfish and animal affec- 
tions, and created feelings that accorded little with the dignified 
spirituahty of the religion of the Lord Jesus. I speak not from 
report; I speak from observation and experience, and observation 
not hastily made. The conviction on my mind, and the conclusion 
to which I have conscientiously arrived, are the result of frequent 
examination, careful reading, and close thinking at intervals, for 
nearly fifty years ; and, however I may be blamed by some and 
pitied by others, I must say, and I say it as fearlessly as I do 
conscientiously, that in this inimitably fine, elegant Hebrew ode 
I see nothing of Christ and his Church, and nothing that appears 
to have been intended to be thus understood ; and nothing, if 
applied in this way, that, per se, can promote the interests of 
vital godliness, or cause the simple and sincere not to know 
Christ after the flesh. 'Here I conscientiously stand: may God 
help me."* 

Indeed, the history of religion in all ages and in all countries 
is full of examples of the danger that excited religious feeling 
may unite itself with sensual feelings, and express itself in sensual 
images. Witness the representations of some of the Hindoo 
gods, and the religious rites of various heathen nations. Even in 
Christendom, hymns have been sung as religious, which fall 
below any heathen addresses to Phallus or Priapus. In proof of 
this may be adduced the obscene language used by the early 
Moravians, in their hymns and other acts of worship. Examples 
of language of this kind, indecent beyond conception, are quoted 

* See his Introduction to tlie Song of Solomon. 



156 INTRODUCTION TO 

by Rimrus, * in his writings relating to the Moravians. Fortu- 
nately, these sincere but misguided Christians were taught by 
their assailants to correct their dangerous error. But let it be 
generally believed that the Canticles were inspired and designed 
"to express the warm and earnest desire of the soul after God,'' 
and we shall be likely to have the error of the early Moravians 
repeated in all its disgusting ofFensiveness. Its direct influence 
will be to debase religion and promote immorality. Let it not be 
said there is no danger, in a community in which Millerism and 
Mormonism have found so many proselytes. 

The opinion, then, that the Canticles were designed as helps 
to the soul in its devotions, is more discreditable to the book 
itself, to the Scriptures, and to the Jewish religion, than that which 
regards them as relics of the amatory poetry of the Hebrews. 
That which is noxious is more discreditable than that which is 
merely indifferent. The odes of Anacreon, Avhile they are read in 
our schools as amatory poetry, have but little influence of any 
kind. But if they were taught as helps to devotion, to be repeated 
day after day as religious exercises during one's whole life, the 
effect would be very different. 

One other argument has been urged of late in favor of the 
mystical interpretation of the Canticles, which I should think 
unworthy of notice, were it not for the respectability of those 
who offer it. It is drawn from the difference of opinion, in regard 
to the object, plan, and design of the Canticles, among those who 
reject the allegorical interpretation. But this difference of opinion 
relates not to the general character of the book, or to the meaning 
of its language, but to the author's special plan and design. It is 
not strange that tliere should have been a difference of opinion an 
these points, since no special object or plan may have existed in 
the author's mind. But, afler all, there is no greater difference of 
opinion in regard to the Canticles than in regard to Ecclesiastes, 
Job, and some other books of the Old Testament. And this 
argument, if it proves any thing, proves that we may fasten an 
allegorical sense upon any difficult passage or book of the Bible. 

* See Rimius's History of the Moravians, &c., Tracts, vols. i. and ii. 
(London, 1754). See also Southey's Life of Wesley, vol. i. pp. 188 and 387. 



THE CANTICLES. 157 

Besides, for every two different opinions expressed by those who 
reject the mystical sense of the Canticles, it will be very easy to 
find four expressed by those who hold It. 

Why, then, says the friend of the allegorical Interpretation 
of the Canticles, Is the book found In the Scriptures, if It has not 
a religious meaning or a moral value ? This, after all, is, I appre- 
hend, the only argument which has much real weight even with 
the allegorists. The book is found in the Scriptures ; therefore It 
cannot be understood In Its obvious sense ; therefore It must have 
an allegorical sense ; and, since the author has not said or inti- 
mated what the religious sense of his words is, the reader must 
supply it for him. 

Now, suppose that we were wholly unable to answer the ques- 
tion, how an amatory poem, or a collection of amatory poetry, 
came into the Jewish canon of the Scriptures. Is our ignorance 
on a point like this a reason for assigning to a man's words a 
sense which was never in his mind, and which, according to the 
usage of the language in which he wrote, and of the authors of 
the same nation, in his own age, or before or after his time, his 
words are not adapted to express ? 

JSTo one knows, or has good reason to believe, what individuals 
or body of men made the collection of the writings of the Old 
Testament. Of course, we do not know on what judgment, if 
any, the admission of a writing into this collection rests. For 
aught we know, all the Hebrew works extant at a particular time 
may have been included In the collection. The incredible and 
contradictory Jewish traditions on the subject all go to show that 
absolutely nothing is known respecting it.* One may find abun- 
dance of conjecture and of strained inferences relating to it, but 
no genuine history. The Book of Canticles, then, if placed in 
the collection of Hebrew literature by an act of judgment, may 
have been placed there by those who supposed it a production, 
possessing much poetic beauty, of a person so celebrated through- 
out the East as Solomon. Much uncertainty exists in regard to 
the time when the books of the Old Testament began to be 

* See De Wette's Introduction to the Old Testament, § 14, and his 
references. 



158 INTRODUCTION TO 

regarded as holy writings. That they were so regarded when 
this book was added to the number cannot be proved. It may 
then have been regarded as only a collection of national writings ; 
of all that was esteemed valuable in Hebrew literature. That a 
great part of the Old Testament has a religious character may be 
accounted for by the predominant religious spirit of the Jews, and 
the existence of their theocratic institutions. 

Or, if we suppose the collector or collectors to have regarded 
the collection of the Hebrew writings as possessing a moral or 
religious character when the Canticles were introduced into it, 
why may not the book have been regarded by them as having a 
good moral tendency in its literal sense ; as designed to recom- 
mend monogamy, as some modern expositors suppose ; or as 
designed to show * ' the reward of fidelity and constancy in affairs 
of the heart," as otiiers imagine ; or that its object was to prove 
**that love, as the freest and fairest gift of the heart, can no more 
be destroyed than called forth by outward power," as a third 
class has maintained ; or that the author's design was the general 
one of setting forth *'the pleasures of virtuous love".^ These or 
other reasons may have influenced the collector or collectors 
in giving it a place in the volume afterwards held sacred by the 
Jews, without supposing that it possessed a religious or mystical 
character. 

But, even supposing that the allegorical interpretation pre- 
vailed at so early a period as that of the completion of the canon 
of the Jewish Scriptures, and that the Canticles were admitted 
into it by those who regarded it as an allegory expressive of reli- 
gious ideas, it by no means follows that such is the fact. There 
is abundant reason for distrusting the judgment as well as the 
information of the collectors of the books of the Old Testament. 
Witness the false captions to many of the Psalms, the confused 
state of the prophecies of Jeremiah, the mode in which the 
prophets were arranged, the ascription to Isaiah of much which 
he could not have written, in the judgment not merely of ration- 
alists, but of the most Orthodox critics. If he or they who placed 
the Canticles in the Old Testament, hundreds of years after it was 
written, regarded it as a religious or even an inspired book, this 
is not a sufficient reason why we should so regard it. 



THE CANTICLES. 159 

In respect to the mere question, whether the book was con- 
tained in the Jewish canon, that is, whether it was generally 
received by the Jews as a part of their sacred writings for nearly 
two hundred years before the Christian era, I entirely agree with 
those who regard it as canonical. But whether any book has in 
reality a claim on my faith or practice depends on very different 
considerations from that of its general reception, whether by the 
Jewish nation or the Christian Church. I must satisfy myself, 
first, whether the writer ever laid claim to Divine authority ; and, 
if he did, whether he gave any proof of his claim, internal or 
external. If I admit the authority of the Church, that is, of a 
^majority of it, as settling conclusively what I am to receive as of 
Divine authority, I must admit the authority of the Church ifn 
other matters, and adopt the creed of Romanism at once. The 
Church, that is, the majority of the Church, the E-oman Church, 
regards the books commonly called apocryphal as canonical. 
Such is the decree of the Council of Trent. 

The only way in which a critical and historical inquirer can 
satisfy himself as to the Divine authority of any book of the Old 
or the New Testament is to take it up separately, and consider 
what it claims to be, and how far its claims are supported by 
internal and external evidence, and then accept it for what it is. 
If in the Canticles, for instance, we find no mention of God, of 
duty, or of the destination of man, no doctrine of any kind requir- 
ing the faith, or duty requiring the practice, of mankind, let us 
take the book for what, according to the received use of lan- 
guage, it purports to be, — a collection of amatory songs; and 
award to it, as a work of taste, that portion of praise to which we 
consider it entitled. This would seem to be all that duty requires 
of us. 

There are some, it is true, who maintain that Jesus Christ and 
his apostles have given the sanction of Divine authority to the gen- 
uineness and inspiration of all the books contained in the Jewish 
canon. In regard to the particular question which I have been 
discussing, I might urge that the Canticles are nowhere alluded to 
in the New Testament, as would naturally have been the case if 
they had been regarded as setting forth the mutual love of Christ 
and the Church, or of Jehovah and the Jewish people, or of God 



160 INTRODUCTION TO 

and the human soul. But I have no faith in the proposition, that 
Jesus Christ meant to extend his authority and approbation to all 
that was contained in the Jewish canon in his time. I do not 
believe that it was a part of his mission, even if it were within the 
compass of his knowledge, to decide questions of criticism and 
interpretation more than of astronomy or geology, or the causes 
of disease. He referred to the books of the Old Testament, just 
as he used the phraseology concerning demoniacs, according to the 
received opinions of the Jews. If he held these opinions himself, 
he did not inculcate them upon others. He had ample work to 
employ all his time during his short ministry on earth, in establish- 
ing, as God's prophet, the fundamental doctrines of his religion, 
'(Without entering into controversy with the Jews on matters of criti- 
cism and interpretation. If his mission was to settle, by Divine 
authority, all the various questions which have arisen in regard to 
the character, criticism, and meaning of the Old Testament, then 
one object of his coming into the world was to set bounds to criti- 
cism, the inevitable consequence of which would be to put a stop 
to that mental improvement and that exact knowledge which are 
the result of criticism. For it is idle to pretend that we have a 
right to study the Old Testament critically, unless we have a right 
to judge of its contents according to the laws of critical and histori- 
cal investigation. I cannot believe that the design of Christ's 
coming into the world was to put a stop to any scientific investi- 
gation. Nothing, it appears to me, is more likely to promote the 
cause of scepticism than attempts to restrain historical and critical 
inquiry by dint of authority, whatever the authority may be. 

From the references made by our Saviour to the Old Testa- 
ment, we may conclude that in his view it contained much that 
is Divine. But that he intended to sanction all that is contained 
in it, or to settle critical questions in regard to the genuineness 
and authority of every book in it, is in the highest degree improba- 
ble. The arguments which have been adduced to support such a 
proposition fall very far short of their aim. How could he who 
gave the command, *'Love your enemies, bless them that curse 
you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute 
you," have supposed that the barbarous extermination of the 
Canaanites was by express Divine command ? Or how could he 



THE CANTICLES. 161 

who died praying for his enemies, *' Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do ! " have sanctioned the horrible impreca- 
tions in the hundred and ninth Psahn, or other passages of the 
Old Testament having a similar character ? (See also Matt. xix. 
8, 9 ; vii. 31-34, 38, 39.) ^ 

These views, or those which have a similar bearing on the Old 
Testament, have been expressed by divines of different denomina- 
tions. The late Dr. Arnold, of the Church of England, whose 
praise as a scholar and a Christian is high wherever the English 
language is spoken, regarded it as perfectly consistent with the 
acknowledgment of the Divine authority of Christ to pronounce 
the Book of Daniel a forgery.* One of the most distinguished 
orthodox dissenting divines in England, after expressing the opin- 
ion that the Song of Songs is ** a pastoral eclogue, or a succession 
of eclogues, representing, in the vivid colors of Asiastic rural 
scenery, with a splendor of artificial decoration, the honorable 
loves of a newly-married bride and bridegroom, with some other 
interlocutors," writes thus: **It is, I deeply feel and acknowl- 
edge, an awful thing to appear to go in contravention to the gen- 
erally assumed position, that our Lord and his apostles recognized 
the writings received as sacred by the Jews at that time as the 
exclusive and entire canon. But I humbly request that it may be 
considered what is meant by the term canon or rule ; and whether 
that meaning can be attached to a composition which has not in 
it a sentence, or a single word, possessing the nature of a rule, 
directory, standard, or prescription whatsoever, in reference to 
facts or doctrines or precepts, or any thing at all of a religious 
kind, except upon a plan of translating its terms and ideas into 
another kind of subjects, of which not the shadow of intimation is 
given in the composition itself, and against which I am bound 
to protest, as destructive of the certainty of language, and by 
inevitable consequence inflicting a deep injury upon the records 
of revealed truth. If we cannot depend upon the definite and 
constant meaning of words and references of sentences as drawn 
out by honest philology, we may as well shut our books, resign 
ourselves to impious indifference, or fall back into the bosom of 

* See Arrold's Life and Writings, Letter 218, p. 369, Amer. edit. 



162 INTRODUCTION TO 

the pretended infallible Church. When I reflect upon the dilH- 
culties, using the mildest term, which arise from an endeavor 
to convert passages containing matter merely genealogical, topo- 
graphical, numerical, civil, military, — fragments of antiquity, do- 
mestic or national, presenting no chamcter whatever of religious 
matter, — into a rule of faith and manners, I feel it impossible 
to accept the conclusion ; I can find no end to my anxiety, no 
rest for my faith, no satisfaction for my understanding, till I 
embrace the sentiment, that the qualities of sanctity and inspira- 
tion belong only to the religious and theological element, which 
is diffused through the Old Testament; and that, where this 
element is absent, where there is nothing adapted to communicate 
* doctrine, reproof, correction, or instruction in righteousness,' 
nothing fitted * to make the man of God perfect, thoroughly fur- 
nished unto every good work,' — there Ave are not called to ac- 
knowledge any inspiration, nor warranted to assume it. Thus, 
I regard as inspired Scripture all that refers to holy things, all 
that can bear the character of * oracles of God ; ' and admit the 
rest as appendages, of the nature of private memoirs or public 
records, useful to the antiquary and the philologist, but which 
belong not to the rule of faith or the directory of practice. To 
tliis extent, and to this only, can I regard the sanction of the 
New Testament as given to the inspiration of the Old. In other 
words, the quality of inspiration, forming the ground of faith and 
obedience, inheres in every sentence, paragraph, or book, which, 
either directly or by implication, contains religious truth, precept, 
or expectation. This, 1 humbly think, leaves us every thing that 
a Christian can wish for; and it liberates us from the pressure 
of difficulties which have often furnished the enemies of revealed 
truth with pretexts for serious objections. Inspiration belongs to 
religious objects ; and to attach it to other things is to lose sight 
of its nature, and misapply its design."* 

To other theories, which assign a mystical meaning to the Can- 
ticles, some of the arguments which I have used against the view 
adopted by Professor Stuart apply with equal, others with less, 

* Scripture Testimony to the Messiah, by John Pye Smith, D.D. Lon- 
don, 1837; p. 53, &c. '- 



THE CANTICLES. 163 

force. All of them are liable to the decisiye objection, that they 
are in opposition to the received use of language. At a tune when 
all the books of the Scriptures were interpreted in the allegorical 
mode, as by the Church fathers, it was a matter of course that the 
Canticles should be treated in the same way. But now that just 
principles of interpretation have been applied to the explanation 
of most parts of the Bible, it is time to give up attempts to alle- 
goi-ize the Canticles. To the popular theory, that Christ and the 
Church are denoted, may be urged the additional objection, that 
there is not in the book the least appearance of prediction. It 
implies throughout a state of things then existing or past. This 
theory is also, if possible, more arbitrary, and more completely 
destitute of support from the use of language and the state of 
religious knowledge among the contemporaries of the writer, or 
among the Jews before the time of Christ, than any one of the 
principal theories which have been mentioned. Against this view, 
too, it may be justly urged that the book is nowhere alluded to in 
the Kew Testament. If the subject of it had been supposed to be 
Christ and the Church, it is reasonable to suppose that allusions 
to it would have been very frequent, both in the Gospels and 
Epistles. 

Since, then, there is no reason for supposing a mystical re- 
ligious meaning in the Canticles, and since their whole tenor and 
complexion are in opposition to such a meaning, the book must 
be interpreted according to the received use of language. Thus 
interpreted, its principal subject, as all will admit, is the recip- 
rocal affection between the sexes, as set forth in poetical repre- 
sentation. There may be some doubt as to the relation in which 
the parties stood to each other, whether in that of lovers before 
marriage, or in that of the head of the harem to one of its mem- 
bers, or in that of husband and wife. That the last supposition 
is not true throughout seems to be obvious from the general char- 
acter of the representation, as well as from particular passages. 
It is also not analogous to similar compositions by writers of other 
countries to suppose the affection of married life to be the subject 
of the work. 

We have, then, in the Canticles the remains of the amatory ol 
erotic poetry of the Hebrews. Whether the book is to be regardec^ 



164 INTRODUCTION TO 

as one whole, a regular dramatic poem, or as a collection of sev- 
eral amatory songs or idyls, is a question which may be considered 
as somewhat doubtful. Without going into a full discussion of the 
subject, I adopt the latter opinion, which was the opinion of Rich- 
ard Simon, Herder, Doderlein, Eichhorn, De Wette, Sir William 
Jones, and Dr. Good, — for the reason that there is not sufficient 
evidence in favor of a general plan or course of dramatic action. 
Those who have maintained the other opinion have been obliged 
to make some very arbitrary suppositions, and to draw largely on 
their own imaginations, in order to make out any plausible course 
of action, or any general design which the writer intended to ac- 
complish, or has accomplished. I have supposed the book to con- 
sist of twelve songs. 

Thus, while Bossuet and Percy suppose the work to be a pas- 
toral drama, designed to celebrate the marriage of Solomon with 
the daughter of the king of Egypt, several of the most recent of 
the German writers * on the book suppose that it is designed to 
set forth the praise of true love in humble life, and how an innocent 
country maiden resisted all the arts of King Solomon to seduce 
her from her laith to her shepherd lover. Respecting the first of 
these theories, it may be remarked that there is very little in the 
book which seems suited to the occasion of royal nuptials ; that 
there are no allusions to Solomon which imply that he was the sub- 
ject of the composition, except in chap. iii. 6-11, and perhaps 
chap. i. 9-ii. 7 ; and that there is too much of rural life in it to be 
suited to the scene of a royal court. The objection to the second 
theory is, that it comes more from the imagination of the inter- 
preter than from the language of the author. Dr. Good remarks : 
*' The Song of Songs cannot be one connected epithalamium, since 
the transitions are too abrupt for the wildest flights of the Oriental 
muse, and evidently imply a variety of openings and conclusions ; 
while, as a regular drama, it is deficient in almost every requisite 
that could give it such a classification : it has neither dramatic 

* Lied der Liebe, das alteste und schonste aus dem Morgenlande. Ueber- 
setzt und asthetisch erklart von Friedrich Wilhelm Carl Umbreit. Heidel- 
berg, 1828. 

Das Hohelied Salomo's iibersetzt, etc., von Dr. Georg Heinrich August 
Ewald. Gottingen, 1826. 



THE CANTICLES. 165 

fable nor action, neither involution nor catastrophe ; it is without 
a beginning, a middle, or an end. To call it such is to injure it 
essentially ; it is to raise expectations which can never be grati- 
fied, and to force parts upon parts which have no possible con- 
nection." * 

Having thus given the view which seems to me most probable, 
I admit that there are some indications of unity in the Canticles, 
such as the refrains in chap. ii. 7 ; iii. 5 ; viii. 4 ; and the recurrence 
of similar thoughts or expressions in various parts of the book. 
There are also some indications that the work possesses a dramatic 
character, being designed, however, only to be read, not to be 
acted. This is undoubtedly the most prevalent opinion in regard 
to the book. The subject and design of it, according to most of 
those writers who adopt this opinion, may be stated as follows : A 
country maiden, called the Shulamite, who had engaged her affec- 
tions to a shepherd lover, and who was perhaps betrothed to 
him, has been carried to the interior of Solomon's palace. This 
monarch tries to win her affections by praises, blandishments, and 
entreaties, but without success. She is constant and faithful to her 
lover in humble life, and rejects all the overtures of royalty. She 
is constantly thinking of her beloved, declaring her attachment to 
him, and desiring to return to the place where he is. After Solo- 
mon had tried in vain to alienate her affection from the shepherd 
and fix it upon himself, she is set free from the harem, and hastens 
to rejoin her beloved shepherd in the country. The design is said 
to be, to set forth the praises of fidelity in love, or the praises of 
that love which is only to be preserved by innocence and virtue. 

Respecting the number of sections, or acts, scenes, and speak- 
ers, tliere has been, as might be expected, a wide difference of 
opinion among those who assign to the whole book a dramatic form, 
as one poem. Renan has gone farthest in reducing it to the form 
of a modern drama in five acts, and the appropriate scenes. Dr. 
Davidson's analysis of the book,f which, considered as a mere the- 
ory, is as satisfactory as any which has been given, is, with a few 
slight abbreviations, as follows : — 

* See Preface to his Translation of the Canticles, 
t Introduction to the 0. T., vol. ii. p. 389-392. 



166 INTRODUCTION TO 

" The poem may be divided into six sections : — 

" 1. (Chap. i. 2-ii. 7.) — After the inscription, the Shulamite appears in the 
royal tent in the country into which she had been carried, still clothed in her 
rustic robes, but thinking only of her absent shepherd-lover. The court 
ladies attendant on the king look curiously at her, on account of the swarthy 
color of her face ; but she informs them that it was caused by exposure to 
the sun ; for her brothers had obliged her to keep their vineyards. Continu- 
ing her soliloquy after this, she asks her lover, as if she were already free, 
where she may find him. The ladies bid her go and feed her sheep (i. 1-8). 
Solomon now steps forward, praising her beauty, and promising to adorn 
her with a beautiful chain (i. 9-11). But she praises her beloved, and is in- 
sensible to the monarch's words. She then implores the women around her 
to grant her leisure to think of her friend (i. 12-14, Shulamite; 15, Solomon; 
16, 17 -ii. 1, Shulamite; ii. 2, Solomon; ii. 3-7, Shulamite). 

"2. (ii. 8-iii. 5.) — Here the place is not changed; but the time is sup- 
posed to be considerably prior to that in ii. 7. The Shulamite refers to the 
occasion of her being first separated from her beloved, who invited her out 
into the fields in the spring. The fifteenth verse gives the words of her 
brothers, which led to the separation. She consoles herself, however, with 
the inseparableness of their hearts, bidding him hasten to her side (ii. 8-17). 

" The espoused one now relates a dream which she had respecting her lover, 
saying that she had sought but did not find him; that she had risen up and 
gone through the streets (of Shunem) ; and when she met with the watchmen 
of the city, and asked them if they had seen her beloved, they had hardly 
passed by her when she laid hold of him, and took him to the house of her 
mother (iii. 1-5). 

" 3. (iii. 6-v. 1.) — Solomon is now described returning to Jerusalem from 
his royal castle in the country, with great pomp and splendor. The people 
admire the magnificent palanquin in which the Shulamite is conveyed (iii. 
6-11). Wishing to procure her favor by his flatteries, the monarch praises 
her gracefulness, and greatly desires to gain the love of one so beautiful (iv. 
1-7). In iii. 6-11, spectators looking at the procession from the country are 
supposed to speak. Solomon is represented as having all preparations made 
for his marriage. He is crowned, but she is not. He appears resolved to 
overcome her inclination. 

" The language of iv. 1-7 is suflScient to show that Solomon is the speaker 
here, not the shepherd-lover. The latter, who is suddenly introduced, assures 
her that he would attempt ever}' thing to rescue her from her perilous posi- 
tion He then praises her chastit}'-, fidelity, and modesty; employing the 
figur*» of an enclosed garden (iv. 8-15). 

" The Shulamite replies in iv. 16 ; and the shepherd responds in v. 1, giving 
utterance to his delight in her charms. The poet addresses them both: 
*£at, friends ! Drink, yea, drink abundantly, beloved ! * 

" 4. (v. 2-vi. 3 ) — The Shulamite relates a dream she saw respecting her 



THE CANTICLES. 167 

shepherd to the court ladies. The purport of this was, that he came to her 
dwelling at night, and asked her to let him in. At first she was reluctant to 
do so ; but when he put his hand through the window, and begged more 
earnestly that he might be admitted, she rose up and opened the door, but 
found him gone, and called him in vain. In seeking him, she met with the 
watchmen of the city, who wounded and shamefully treated her. She then 
beseeches these ladies, that, if they found her friend, they would tell him how 
sick of love she was. When they ask what his attractions are more than 
those of an ordinary lover (v. 9), the Shulamite describes his personal appear- 
ance and beauty. After the description, the daughters of Jerusalem inquire 
whither he is gone (vi. 1), professing their willingness to go with her to seek 
him out. She answers that he has gone to his garden, and declares that their 
affection is mutual and inseparable. 

"5. (vi. 4-viii. 4.) — Solomon now appears and addresses the Shulamite in 
flattering terms, affirming that he prefers her to all his wives and concubines. 
In vi. 10 he cites the encomium of the court ladies upon her. The Shulamite 
explains how she had fallen in with the royal cortege ; at the sight of which 
she was at first frightened, and hastened away, till by the advice of the court 
ladies she remained (vi. 13), and so came to be seen by the king, who 
tries to induce her to love him, and therefore celebrates her beauty (vi. 
4~vii. 9). 

'* The Shulamite declaring that she is wholly devoted to her bridegroom, 
and so showing that she steadfastly resists all the arts of Solomon, speaks to 
her shepherd as if she were already free, inviting him to go to the country 
with her, and enjoy the pleasures of life there. She wishes that he were a 
brother to her, that she might manifest her attachment to him in public, in- 
troduce him into her mother's house, and give him the most delicious drinks. 
Then, exhausted with the strength of her afi'ection, she wishes for the pres- 
ence and embraces of her lover, and beseeches the court ladies not to attempt 
to turn away her affection from him (vii. 10-viii. 4). 

" 6. (viii. 5-14 ) — The shepherd is supposed to have been at the palace ; and 
Solomon, finding her proof against his allurements, had set her fi*ee. In com- 
pany with the bridegroom, she returns to her native place, and visits the 
apple-trees where they had first pledged their vows. Speaking of her virtue 
and innocence as things invincible to temptation, she reminds her brother? 
of what they had said about her preserving or losing her chastity before sho 
was marriageable. In alluding to her temptations, she says, that though 
Solomon was a very rich man, having a most valuable vineyard, yet that she 
despised all his possessions, content to preserve her innocence. In conclu- 
sion, the shepherd, with his companions, requests of her a song. With this 
she complies, as she sits in her garden invisible, and repeats the Avords she had 
already sung (ii. 17): Make haste, my beloved; and be thou like to a roe, 
or to a young hart, upon the mountains of spices.* The mountains of sep- 
aration exist no longer: mountains, fragrant with spices, take their place.'* 



168 INTRODUCTION TO 

Parts of tMs theory appear to me to imply immense improba- 
bilities ; as seems to be conceded by Dr. Davidson, if the existing 
arrangement of the Hebrew text came from the author. How in- 
congruous, for instance, is chap. viii. 8-10, in its present position, 
with a dramatic plot of which the sister there mentioned is the 
heroine ! It is like laying the foundation after the house is 
built. 

As to the number of speakers in the Canticles, regarded as con- 
sisting of separate songs, I have indicated in the margin those 
which seemed to me to be required. If any reader thinks that 
more speakers are necessary, he can supply them according to his 
taste. 

That this book, whether consisting of one dramatic poem or of 
several separate songs or poems, proceeded from one author, is now 
so general an opinion of the best critics, that it is not necessary 
to discuss the subject. Whether this author were Solomon admits 
of greater doubt. When we consider how many of the inscriptions 
in the Book of Psalms are at variance with their contents, we can- 
not attach much importance to the title of this book. The dic- 
tion,* in its Aramaean character, varies so much from that of the 
Proverbs, that many modern critics have, with great reason, con- 
cluded that it proceeded from a different author. There are also 
passages which do not well harmonize with the supposition that 
Solomon was the author; such as chap. i. 4, 5 ; iii. 6-11; vii. 5; 
viii. 11, 12. If Solomon is censured in the book, according to the 
dramatic theory, of course he could not have been the author. 
On the other hand, there seem to be several allusions to the cir- 
cumstances and historical relations of the age of Solomon, or that 
immediately succeeding it. (See i. 4, 5, 9, 12 ; iii. 7, &c. ; iv. 4 ; vi. 
4, 8, 9 ; viii. 11, 12.) The spirit and character of the poetry seem 
also to agree well with the most flourishing period of Hebrew lit- 
erature. The peculiar diction is supposed by De Wette to be 
susceptible of explanation by maintaining that these songs were 
preserved orally in the mouths of the people, and were thus in 
some measure altered. Others seek an explanation of this pecu- 
liarity in the province of Palestine, to which the writer may have 

♦ On this topic, see the Introductions of Jahn, De Wette, or Davidson. 



THE CANTICLES. 189 

belonged Either of these suppositions appears to me more proba- 
ble than that the author wrote long after the Captivity, and trans- 
ferred himself back to the age of Solomon. I therefore suppose 
the Canticles to have been written by some Jewish poet, either in 
the reign of Solomon or soon after it. 

For a list of interpreters of the Canticles, see the introduction 
to this book in Rosenmiiller's Scholia. Of those which he has not 
mentioned, I have seen the translations and notes of Bishop Percy, 
Thomas Williams, and John Mason Good. In this edition, I have 
also had access to the translations and commentaries of Heiligstedt, 
Ilitzig, and Kenan. 

Cambridge, Jan. 10, 1867. 



THE SONG OF SONGS. 



The Song of Songs, which is hy Solomon, 



An innocent country maiden, in a company of ladies of Jerusalem, is 
anxious to see her lover. — Chap. I. 2-8. 

2 [,^''\ THAT he would kiss me with one of the kisses 

of his mouth! 
For thy love is better than wme. 

3 Because of the savor of thy precious perfumes, 
(Thy name is like fragrant oil poured forth,) 
Therefore do the virgins love thee. 

4 Draw me after thee ; let us run ! 

The king hath led me to his chambers ! 
We will be glad and rejoice in thee ; 
We will praise thy love more than wine. 
Justly do they love thee ! 

6 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, 
As the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. 

6 Gaze not upon me because I am black. 
Because the sun hath looked upon me ! 
My mother's sons were angry with me ; 
They made me keeper of the vineyards ; 
My vineyard, my own, have I not kept. 

7 Tell me, thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest 

thy flock. 
Where thou leadest it to rest at noon ; 
For why should I be like a veiled one by the flocks of thy 

companions ? 

[171] 



172 THE SONG OF SONGS, [chap, ii 

8 [Zar^ ] If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, 
Trace thou thy way by the tracks of the flock, 
And feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents ! 



II. 

Conversation between a lover and maiden. — Chap. I. 9. - II. 7, 

9 [-^0^'-] To the horses in the chariots of Pharaoh 
Do I compare thee, my love ! 

10 Comely are thy cheeks with rows of jewels, 
Thy neck with strings of pearls. 

11 Golden chains will we make for thee. 
With studs of silver. 

12 [i][f.] While the king reclineth at his table, 
My spikenard sendeth forth its fragrance. 

13 A bunch of myrrh is my beloved to me ; 
He shall abide between my breasts. 

14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna-flowers 
From the gardens of Engedi. 

15 [Zoi\] Behold, thou art fair, my love ; behold, thou art 

fair! 

Thine eyes are doves. 

* 

16 [^^^] Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, lovely ; 
And green is our bed. 

17 The cedars are the beams of our house, 
And its roof the cypresses. 

1 I am a rose of Sharon, 
A lily of the valleys. 

2 [Zoz\] As the lily among thorns, 
So is my love among the daughters. 

3 [^^O As the apple-tree among the trees of the forest, 
So is my beloved among the sons. 

In his shadow I love to sit down, 
Ani his fruit is sweet to my taste. 



CHAP. II.] THE SONG OF SONGS. 173 

4 He hath brought me to his banqueting-house, 
And his banner over me is love. 
Strengthen me with raisins, 

5 Refresh me with apples ! 
For I am sick with love. 

6 His left hand is under my head, 
And his right hand embraceth me ! 

7 [^Lov,"] I charge you, ye daughters of Jerusalem, 
By the gazelles, and by the hinds of the field, 

That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till she please ! 



in. 

The maiden's meeting with her lover in the vineyard. — Chap. II. 8-17. 

8 [if.] The voice of my beloved ! 
Behold, he cometh. 

Leaping upon the mountains, 
Bounding upon the hills. 

9 Like a gazelle is my beloved. 
Or a young hind. 

Behold, he standeth behind our wall ; 
He is looking through the windows ; 
He glance th through the lattice. 

10 My beloved speaketh, and saith to me, 

" Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away ! 

11 For, lo, the winter is past. 
The rain is over and gone ; 

12 The flowers appear on the earth ; 

The time of the singing of birds is come, 

And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land ; 

13 The fig-tree is spicing its green fruit ; 
The vines in blossom give forth fragrance. 
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away ! 

14 O my dove, that art in the recesses of the rock, 
In the hiding-places of the steep craggy mountain, 
Let me see thy face, 

Let me hear thy voice ! 
For sweet is thy voice. 
And thy face lovely." 



174 THE SONG OF SONGS. [cnAP. m. 

15 Take ye for us the foxes, 

The little foxes that spoil the vines ; 
For our vines are now in blossom. 

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his ; 
He feedeth among the lilies. 

17 When the day breathes, and the shadows flee away, 
Come again, my beloved, like a gazelle, or a young hind, 
Upon the craggy mountains. 



IV. 

The maiden's search for her lover. — Chap. III. 1-5. 

1 [il[/! ] Upon my bed, in the night, 
I sought him whom my soul loveth ; 
I sought him, but found him not. 

2 I will arise now [said I], and go about the city ; 

In the streets and the broad ways will I seek him whom 

my soul loveth ; 
I sought him, but found him not. 

3 The watchmen who go about the city found me ; 

" Have you seen [said I] him whom my soul loveth ? " 

4 I had but just passed them, 

When I found him whom my soul loveth ; 
I held him, and would not let him go, 
Till I had brought him into my mother's house. 
Into the apartment of her that bore me. 

5 [Zor.] I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem ! 
By the gazelles, and by the hinds of the field. 

That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till she please. 



A. song relating to Solomon; or, The conducting of a spouse of Solomon, or 
of a maiden beloved by him, to his palace. — Chap. III. 6-11. 

6 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, 
Like pillars of smoke. 
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense. 
With all the powders of the merchant ? 



CHAP. IV.] THE SONG OF SONGS. 175 

7 Behold, the carriage of Solomon ! 
Threescore valiant men are around it, 
Of the valiant men of Israel. 

8 They all wear swords, 
Being skilled in war. 

Every one hath his sword girt upon his thigh, 
On account of danger in the night. 

9 King Solomon made for himself a carriage 
Of the wood of Lebanon. 

10 The pillars thereof he made of silver, 
The railing of gold. 

The seat of purple. 

Its interior curiously wrought by a lovely one of the 
daughters of Jerusalem. 

11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion! 
And behold King Solomon 

In the crown with which his mother crowned him. 

In the day of his espousals, 

In the day of the gladness of his heart. 



VI. 

Conversation between a lover and maiden. — Chap. IV. - V. 1. 

1 [Zov.] Behold, thou art fair, my love ! behold, thou 

art fair ! 
Thine eyes are doves behind thy veil ; 
Thy locks are like a flock of goats 
Which lie down on mount Gilead ; 

2 Thy teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep. 
Which come up from the washing-place. 
Of which every one beareth twins. 

And none is barren among them ; 

3 Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet. 
And thy mouth comely ; 

Thy cheeks are like a divided pomegranate behind thy 
veil; 
4t Thy neck is like the tower of David, 
Built for an armory, 

In which there hang a thousand bucklers, 
All shields of mighty men ; 



176 THE SONG OF SONGS. [cuai. iv 

6 Thy two breasts are like two young twin gazelles, 
That feed among the lilies. 

6 When the day breathes, and the shadows flee away, 
I will betake me to the mountain of myrrh 

And the hill of frankincense. 

7 Thou art all fair, my love ; 
There is no spot in thee ! 

8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, 
With me from Lebanon ! 

Look from the top of Amana, 
From the top of Senir and Hermon, 
From the dens of the lions, 
From the mountains of the leopards. 

9 Thou hast taken captive my heart, my sister, my spouse ; 
Thou hast taken captive my heart with one of thine eyes, 
With one chain of thy neck. 

10 How sweet is thy love, my sister, my spouse ! 
How much more precious thy caresses than wine, 
And the fragrance of thy perfumes than all spices ! 

11 Thy lips, my spouse ! drop the honeycomb ; 
Honey and milk are under thy tongue, 

And the fragrance of thy garments is as the fragrance ot 
Lebanon. 

12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse ; 
A spring shut up, a fountain sealed ; 

13 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with choicest 
Henna and spikenard, [fruits, 

14 Spikenard and saffron, 
Sweet cane and cinnamon. 
With all trees of frankincense ; 
Myrrh and aloes. 

With all the chief spices ; 

15 A fountain of the gardens, 
A well of living water, 

A stream that Soweth from Lebanon ! 

16 [^] Awake, north wind, and come, thou south ! 
Blow upon my garden, 

That its spices may flow out ! 

May my beloved come to his garden, 

And eat his pleasant fruits. 



CHAP, v.] THE SONG OF SONGS. 177 

1 [Zoz;.] I am come to my garden, my sister, my spouse ! 
I gather my myrrh with my balsam, 
I eat my honeycomb with my honey, 
I drink my wine with my milk. 
Eat, O friends ! 
Drink, yea, drink abundantly, my loved companions ! 



VII. 

The maiden's search for her lover by ni(?ht, and praise of his beauty. 
Chap. V. 2. -VI. 3. 

2 [JIf.] I SLEPT, but my heart was awake ; 

It was the voice of my beloved, who was knocking : 

" Open to me, my sister, my love. 

My dove, my perfect one ! 

For my head is filled with dew, 

And my locks with the drops of the night." 

3 " I have taken oiF my vest [said Ij ; 
How shall I put it on ? 

I have washed my feet ; 
How shall I soil them ? " 

4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, 
And my heart was moved for him. 

5 I rose up to open to my beloved. 
And my hands dropped with myrrh, 

And my fingers with self-flowing myrrh, upon the handles 
of the bolt. 

6 I opened to my beloved ; 

But my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone. 
I was not in my senses while he spake with me ! 
I sought him, but could not find him ; 
I called him, but he gave me no answer. 

7 The watchmen that go about the city found me ; 
Tliey smote me, they wounded me ; 

The keepers of the walls took away from me my veil. 

8 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem ! 
If ye should find my beloved, — 

What will ye tell him ? — 
That I am sick with love. 

8* 



178 THE SONG OF SONGS. [chap, vx 

9 [^LadJ] What is thy beloved more than another beloved, 
O thou fairest among women ! 
What is thy beloved more than another beloved, 
That thus thou dost charge us ? 

10 [_^''] My beloved is white and ruddy, 
The chief among ten thousand. 

11 His head is as the most fine gold ; 
His locks waving palm-branches, 
Black as a raven ; 

12 His eyes are doves by streams of water, 
Washed with milk, dwelling in fulness ; 

13 His cheeks are like a bed of balsam, 
Like beds of spices ; 

His lips are lilies 

Dropping self-flowing myrrh ; 

14 His hands are gold rings set with chrysolite ; 

His body is wrought- work of ivory, overlaid with sap- 
phires ; 

15 His legs are marble pillars, resting on pedestals of fine 

gold; ^ 
His aspect is like Lebanon, 
Majestic like the cedars ; 
\Q His mouth is sweetness; 
His whole being, loveliness. 
This is my beloved. 
This my friend, 
O ye daughters of Jerusalem ! 

1 [^LadJ] Whither is thy beloved gone, thou fairest among 

women ? 
Whither hath thy beloved betaken himself? 
That we may seek him with thee. 

2 [i¥;] My beloved is gone down to his garden, 
To the beds of balsam. 

To feed in the gardens, 
And to gather lilies. 

3 1 am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine ; 
He feedeth among the lilies. 



CHAP. VI.] THE SONG OF SONGS. 179 

VIIL 

The lover's praise of the object of his attachment. — Chap. VI. 4-9. 

4 Beautiful art thou, my love, as Tirzah, 
Lovely as Jerusalem ; 

But terrible as an army with bamiers. 

5 Turn away thine eyes from me ! 
They overpower me ! 

Thy locks are like a flock of goats, 
Which lie down upon Gilead. 

6 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep, 
Which come up from the washing-place. 
Of which every one hath twins. 

And none is barren among them. 

7 As a divided pomegranate 

Are thy cheeks behind thy veil. 

8 Threescore are the queens, and fourscore the concu- 

bines, 
And the maidens without number. 

9 But my dove, my undefiled, is the one ; 
She is the incomparable one of her mother, 
The darling of her that bore her. 

The daughters saw her, and blessed her ; 

The queens and concubines, and they praised her. 



IX. 

Conversation between a lover and maiden. — Chap. VI. 10 - VIII. 4. 

10 [Zor.] Who is this that looketh forth like the morning, 
Fair as the moon, bright as the sun. 

And terrible as an army with banners ? 

11 [^^'1 I went down into the garden of nuts, 
To see the green plants of the valley, 

To see whether the vine blosson-ed. 
And the pomegranates budded. 



180 THE SONG OF SONGS. [chap. viL 

12 Or ever I was aware, 

My soul had made me like the chariots of the prince's 

[train. 

13 [Zac?.] Return, return, O Shulamite ! 
Return, return, that we may look upon thee ! 

[Jf.] Why should ye look upon the Shulamite, 
As upon a dance of the hosts ? 

1 [Zov.] How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, prince's 

daughter ! 
The roundings of thy hips are like neck ornaments, 
The work of the hands of the artificer ; 

2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, that wanteth not the 

spiced wine; 
Thy belly like a heap of wheat, inclosed with lilies ; 

3 Thy two breasts are like two young twin gazelles ; 

4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory ; 

Thine eyes are like the pools at Heshbon, by the gate of 

Bath-rabbim ; 
Thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon, which looketh toward 
Damascus ; 
6 Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, 
And the hair of thy head like purple ; 
The king is captivated by thy locks. 

6 How fair, how pleasant art thou, love, in delights ! 

7 This thy stature is like the palm-tree, 
And thy breasts like clusters of dates. 

8 I will go up, say I to myself, upon the palm-tree ; 
I will take hold of its boughs. 

And thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, 
And the fragrance of thy nose like apples, 

9 And thy mouth like the best wine — 

[ JIfi] — that goeth down smoothly for my beloved, 
Flowing over the lips of them that sleep. 

10 I am my beloved's, 

And his desire is toward me. 

11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the country ; 
Let us lodge in the villages ! 



CHAP. VIII.] THE SONG OF SONGS. 181 

12 Then will we go early to the vineyards, 
To see whether the vine putteth forth, 
Whether its blossom openeth, 

And the pomegranates bud forth ; 
There will I give thee my love ! 

13 The love-apples give forth fragrance ; 

And at our doors are all kinds of precious fruits, new and 

old: 
I have kept them for thee, my beloved ! 

1 O that thou wert as my brother, 
That sucked the breast of my mother ! 
When I found thee abroad, I might kiss thee ; 
And for it no one would deride me. 

2 I will lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, 

that thou mayst teach me ; 
I will give thee spiced wine to drink, and the juice of my 
pomegranates. 

3 His left hand is under my head. 
And his right hand embraceth me. 

4 \_Lov,'] I charge you, ye daughters of Jerusalem I 
That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, 

Till she please ! 



X. 

Chorus of ladies, maiden, and lover. — Chap. VIII. 5-7. 

5 \_Lad,'] Who is this that cometh up from the wilder- 
ness, 
Leaning upon her beloved ? 

[71/!] Under the apple-tree I awakened ihee; 
There thy mother brought thee forth ; 
There she that bore thee brought thee forth 1 
' O set me as a seal upon thy heart, 
As a seal upon thine arm ! 
For love is strong as death ; 
True love Is fii'm as the grave : 



182 THE SONG OF SONGS. [chap. viii. 

Its flames are flames of fire, 
The fire of Jehovah. 

7 Many waters cannot quench love, 
Nor can floods drown it. 

Would a man give all the wealth of his house for love, 
It would be utterly contemned. 

XI. 

A conversation of two brothers about their sister, with her remarks. 
Chap. VIII. 8-12. 

8 C^^-] We have a sister who is yet young ; 
She is yet without breasts. 

What shall we do with our sister, 
When she shall be spoken for ? 

9 If she be a wall, 

We will build upon it a silver tower ; 

If she be an open gate, 

We will inclose her with planks of cedar. 

10 [&*5.] I am a wall, and my breasts like towers ; 
Therefore am I become in his eyes as one that findeth 

[peace. 

11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon ; 
He let out the vineyard to keepers ; 

Every one was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for 
its fruit. 

12 My vineyard is before my eyes. 
Be thine the thousand, O Solomon ! 

And two hundred to the keepers of its fruit ! 



XII. 

The lover sent away. A fragment. — Chap. YIII. 13, 14. 

13 [^Lov.'] Thou that dwellest in the gardens ! 
Friends listen to thy voice ; 

Let me hear thee ! 

14 Fly, my beloved ! like a gazelle, or a young hind. 
Upon the mountains of spices. 



NOTES. 



NOTES ON JOB. 



In the first two chapters is contained a brief account of the excellent 
character and flourishing condition of Job; — of the afflictions decreed in 
heaven to be sent upon him, and the design of those afflictions, namely, to 
prove the disinterestedness and firmness of his integrity and piety; — of 
the actual occurrence of these afflictions, and of Job's conduct under 
them; — and of the visit of three of his friends to mourn with him and 
comfort him. 

The character of this introduction, so far as it relates to the upper 
world, is thus given by Scott : " This is not history, but a piece of allegori 
cal scenery. The noble instruction which it veileth is, that God governs the 
world by the instrumentality of second causes, that the evils of human life 
are under his direction, and that the afflictions of good men are appointed 
by him for the illustration of their virtue, and for advancing, by that 
means, the honor of religion." The learned Mr. Poole also observes: 
•* You must not think that these things were really done ; . . . but 
it is only a parabolical representation of that great truth, that God, by his 
wise and holy providence, doth govern all the actions of men and devils to 
his own ends.'* Considered as a part of the whole work, the design of 
these chapters is to suggest the subject of discussion, and, in part, to 
illustrate it; and also to dispose the reader to a favorable opinion of Job 
See introduction, p. 18. 

Ch. I. 1. — Job. The most probable meaning of the name is persecuted, 
harassed. See Ges. ad verb. 

3. — three thousand camels^ The Arabs used these animals in war, in 
their caravans, and for food. One of their ancient poets, whose hospitality 
grew into a proverb, is reported to have killed yearly, in a certain month, 
ten camels every day, for the entertainment of his friends. Scoii. from 
Schultens and Pococke. We have here the description of the wealth of an 
Arab ruler, or chief, similar to those who at the present day are called 
Emirs. 

fl85] 



186 NOTES. 

4. — each on his day : i e. on the day in which it fell to him in couise 
to give a feast. 

5. — sanctify : by ablutions and other observances. See Exod. xix. 10, 
14; Josh. vii. 13. — renounced God in their hearts: i. e. been unmindful 
of him, dismissed him from their thoughts, or withheld the reverence and 
homage which are his due. It is hardly credible that Job suspected his 
children of cursing: God. He was only apprehensive lest the gayety of a 
festival had made them forget God, and neglect his service and worship. 
The term T]13 generally signifies to bless. It was the term of salutation 

between friends at meeting and parting. See Gen. xxviii. 3, xlvii. 10. In 
the latter use of it, it corresponded to the English phrase to bid farewell 
to, and like that, came to be used in a bad sense for to renounce^ to aban- 
don, to dismiss from the mind^ to disregard. It may imply disregard^ 
neglect, renunciation^ or abhorrence, according to the connection in which 
it is used. Xuunn in Greek, and valere in Latin, are used in the same way. 
Thus Eurip. Med. 1044.: O/' drjz' ^ytnyf' /uiq^to (iovXn'uaTix, And Cicero, 
in a letter to Atticus (VIII. 8 ), in which he complains of the disgraceful 
flight of Pompey, applies to him a quotation from Aristophanes : noX?.a 
;raioBiv ii.Koi tvj y:u}.C), bid liiig farewell to honovy he fled to Brundusium. 
Another instance of this use of valere is in Ter. And. IV. 2. 14.: Valeant, 
qui inter nos dissidium volunt. Also in Cic. de Nat. Deor. 1. 44. near the 
end : Deinde si maxime talis est Deus, ut nulla gratia, nulla hominum 
caritate teneatur, valeat ! 

6. — sons of God : i. e. the angels. See ch. xxxviii. 7; Dan. iii. 25, 28. 

— Satan. There has been a question whether by the person denomi- 
nated Satan in this chapter is denoted the malignant spirit, the enemy of 
God and man, otherwise called the Devil; or one of the sons of God, a 
faithful, but too suspicious, servant of Jehovah. 

This latter opinion has been defended by some critics, because they 
could not easily account for the presence of the Devil in heaven amongst 
the angels of God, and for his free conversation with Jehovah ; by others, 
because they regarded the belief in the Devil as having had no existence 
amongst the Jews until their return from the Babylonish captivity, and, 
consequently, as inconsistent with the'r opinion of the high antiquity of 
the book. But the disposition ascribed to Satan in the narrative is not 
very consistent with this view. Nor 7«? there any strong argument to show 
that a belief in evil spirits may not b^ire arisen among the Jews at least a 
short time before the captivity, in cnsequence of their intercourse with 
foreigners. Satan appears, in this pa«^sage, in the office indicated by his 
name, that of the adversary, the accuser, the office uniformly ascribed to 
him by the later Jews. See Zech. iii. ) 2; Rev. xii. 10. See also Christian 
Examiner, for May, 1836, p. 236. It is observed by Rosenmiiller, that 
in the life of Zoroaster, (see Zendavesta, by J. G. Kleukner, vol. iii. p. 11,) 



JOB. 187 

the prince of the evil demons, the angel of death, called Engremeniosh^ is 
said to go about the earth for the purpose of opposing and injuring good 
men. 

11. — icill he renounce thee. The phrase is stronger here than in verse 
5. It imports an utter and public renunciation of religion as a vain thing. 
ScotL 

1 5. — Sabeans : inhabitants of Sheba, a country of Arabia Felix, abound 
ing in spices, gold, and precious stones. 1 Kings x. 1, &c.; Is. Ix. 6; Ps. 
Ixxii. 10, 15. 

16. — fire of God: i. e. lightning; which has a similar appellation in 
Eurip. Med. 144 : 

At, at' bia fiov K€(t>a\as <^Xo^ ovpavia 

Balrj. 

Alas ! alas ! May the fire of heaven 

Strike through my head ! 

17. — Chaldeans: a fierce and warlike people, who originally inhabited 
the Carduchian mountains, north of Assyria, and the northern part of 
Mesopotamia, portions of whom settled in Babylonia and founded a mighty 
empire. They are described in Hab. i. 6-11. 

20. — rent his mantle, and shaved his head. The custom of rending the 
mantle, as an expression of grief, is said to prevail at the present day in 
Persia, and, like that of shaving the head, to have been common amongst 
several nations of antiquity. Herodotus (II. 26) remarks, that the latter 
was the practice of all nations except the Egyptians, in cases of mourning. 

21. — rni/ mother's womb: i. e. the womb of the earth, the universal 
mother ; for he speaks of returning thither. The same figure is found in 
Eeveral languages. See Cic. de Nat. Deor. II. 26. — blessed be the name, 
Sfc. Here the contrast is observable between the object of Satan, which 
was to induce Job to renounce God, and the issue of the temptation, in 
which Job blesses God. 

Ch. II. 4. Skin for skin, Sf*c. This is a proverbial expression, im- 
porting, as is generally supposed, that any man will give the skin or life 
of another, whether animal or man, to save his own. The observation of 
Satan will then imply that Job gave up all, without complaint, from the 
selfish fear of exposing his own life to danger. Others understand the 
term " skin " to denote " the life." The proverb will then be, *' Life for 
life '* ; i. e. Nothing is so precious as life. All other calamities are light, 
compared with those which threaten one's own life. Others, like for like, 
i. e, what a man holds as dear as his skin, i. e. his life, he will give for hie 
life. 

7. It is fjenerally supposed that Job was afflicted with that species of 
\eprosy called elephantiasis, the elephant disease ; so called from its cov- 
ering the skin with dark scales, and swelling the mouth, legs, and feet to 



188 NOTES. 

an enormous size, althougli the body at the same time is emaciated. See 
Deut. xxviii. 35. The pain is said not to be very great, but there is a 
great debility of the system, and great uneasiness and grief. See Jahn's 
Archaeology, § 189. 

9. Rp.aounce God, and die : i. e. since you must die. Since your 
exemplary piety has been of no use to you, give it up; renounce God; de- 
sist from your idle prayers and praises, and look to death as the only ter- 
mination of your miseries, the only fruit of your virtue which you will 
ever receive. Schultens. See i. 5, and the note. 

But, perhaps, the common meaning of the verb Ip^, to bless, has some 

claim to consideration. According to this rendering. Job's wife ironically 
exhorts him to go on blessing God, since he received such precious returns 
for it. Bless God, and die : i. e. Bless God ever so much, thou wilt die 
after all. I am inclined to believe, however, that the term means here 
what it does in the nearly connected passages, ver. 6 and 11. 

10. la all this Job sinned not ivith his lips. The author repeats this 
circumstance a second time, in order to excite the attention of the reader 
to what fallows, viz., the conduct of Job with respect to his reverence for 
the Deity, and the changes which accumulated misery might produce in 
his temper and behavior. Accordingly we find that another still more se 
vere trial of his patience yet awaits him, and which, indeed, as the writer 
seems to intimate, he scarcely appears to have sustained with equal firm- 
ness; namely, the unjust suspicions, the bitter reproaches, and the violent 
altercations of his friends. Loicth. 

11. — Temanite. Teraan was one of the principal cities of Edom, or 
Idumea, distinguished for its wise men. See Jer. xlix. 7; Obad. 8, 9. 
Amos. i. 12. — Shuhite. Shuah, a son of Abraham by Keturah, was 
sent by him into the E^xst country. Gen. xxv. 2, 6. From him may have 
descended the Shuhites. Gesenius observes that the country of the 
Shuhites was not improbably the same with the -uicy.u . of Ptolemy, 5, 
15, eastward of Batanea. — J\'*aamaihite an inhabitant of Naamah, a 
place whose situation is unknown. It could not be the same which is men- 
tioned in Josh. XV. 41. 

12. 13. When they saw him, at the distance at which they could for- 
merly recognize him without difficulty, disease had so altered his appear- 
ance, that at first sight they knew him not. The expression of his grief 
resembles, in several circumstances, that of Achilles, when informed of the 
death of Patroclus. Iliad, xviii. 21 -27. 

Seven days was the customary time of mourning among the Orientals. 
See Gen. 1. 10; 1 Sam. xxxi. 13; and Ecclesiasticus, xxii. 13. *' Seven days 
do men mourn for him that is dead." It is not meant that they remained 
in the same place and posture for the space of seven days, but that they 
mourned with him during that time, in t^e usual way. — and none spake 



JOB. 189 

a word io him. Poole remarks that the meaning probably is, that no one 
spake a word to him about his afflictions, and the causes of them. But as 
this is not in the text, it seems more probable that the seven days* silence 
is only a poetical or oriental exaggeration, designed to express the pro- 
found amazement of the friends of Job, on account of the condition in 
which they found him. It may be compared with Ch. xlii. 12, 13, 14. 



II. 

At the end of the seven days of mourning, when no hopes of recovery 
from his afflicted condition were entertained by Job, and not a word of con- 
solation had been offered by his friends, he unburdens his heart in the 
strongest language of complaint, lamentation, and despair. He curses the 
day of his birth, and longs for death, as the only refuge from his miseries. 

The poet has secured the sympathy of the reader in favor of Job by the 
introductory chapters upon the cause of his afflictions, and by the declara- 
tion of Jehovah, that he was *' an upright and good man ; '* so that in this 
place, and throughout the poem, we are more inclined to pity him for his 
afflictions than to censure him for his irreverent language. 

Ch. III. 2. — spake. The verb nH-> used of a person beginning to speak, 

appears, says Geseniiis, to be peculiar to the later Hebrew. 

3. — the day J ^c. The birth of a son was one of three great occasions 
of festivity among the Arabians. The other two were the birth of a foal 
of a valued race, and the rising up of a poetical genius in any of their 
tribes. When an Arabian gave his daughter in marriage to a person whom 
he approved, he used the benediction, " Facilis sit tibi partus, et masculos 
parias, non foeminas ! " Pococke. Spec. Hist. Arab. pp. 160, 337. — And 
the night, ^c. : i. e. which was privy to my conception ; a bold personifica- 
tion, as in verse 10, and xxx. 17. The Arabic poets delight to personify 
the day and the night in this way, as is shown by various quotations in 
Schultens ad loc. See also Burder's Oriental Customs, No. 490. 

4. — seek it. This is the primary meaning of the word W^l, and admits 
of a good explanation. The poet seems to conceive of the day as sunk 
beneath the horizon, or in the deep waters by which he supposed the earth 
to be surrounded. He prays that God may not seek it, and bring it from 
its dark abode. The secondary meaning, regard, care for, though perfectly 
allowable, is less poetic. 

5. — shadow of death: i. e. thick darkness ; or, a black and dark shadow, 
like that of the dead. — redeem it: i. e. resume their dominion over it, 
excluding the light. Thus the common meaning of ^^} gives a highly 



190 NOTES. 

poetical sense to the line. — whatever darkens the day : lit. ohscurationi 
of the day. By obscurations of the day, I suppose he understands eclipaes, 
dreadful storms, &c. Less probably, deadly heats of the day : i. e. in 
tolerable sultriness, which causes pestilence. Some writers suppose that 
there is a reference here to the poisonous wind Samum, or Samiel, which is 
feared in the hottest months of summer. But it appears from the testi- 
mony of modern travellers that the injurious effects of this wind have been 
very much exaggerated. See Robinson's Calmet, Art. Wind, Other- 
wise, the bitterness, or the misfortunes of the day ; 3 being considered only 
as the particle of emphasis, as it is often used. 

7. O let that night he unfruitful ! i. e. May there be no births in that 
night ! See Ch. xxx. 3, and the note. — no voice of joy : i. e. on account 
of the birth of a son. See note on verse 3. 

8. Who are skilful to stir up the leviathan ! In all other parts of the 
sacred writings, in which the word 1X?'h occurs, it denotes an animal 

' ▼ t: • 

Nearly all the ancient versions, and nearly all the modem critics, considei 
it as the name of an animal here. It seems to be a common name to denote 
monstrous animals of different kinds, as a huge serpent, the crocodile, &c. 
Here it may denote a monstrous serpent. In Ch. xli. 1, the crocodile. See 
Ges. ad verb. The verse probably refers to a class of persons who were 
supposed to have the power of making any day fortunate or unfortunate, 
to control future events, and even to call forth the most terrific monsters 
from impenetrable forests, or from the deep, for the gratification of their 
own malice, or that of others. Balaam, whom Balak sent for to curse 
Israel, affords evidence of the existence of a class of persons who were 
supposed to be capable of producing evil by their imprecations. See 
Numb. xxii. 10, 11. Job calls upon the most powerful of these sorcerers 
to assist him in cursing the day of his birth. 

9. JVeither let it see the eyelashes of the morning ! This is the literal 
version, and contains an image too beautiful to be thrown away. So Soph. 
Antig. 104. : 

uufQag ^XeipanoVf /iinxut' 
(x)v vnsQ QiB^Qojv ^oXovaa. 

So in Milton's Lycidas : 

** ere the high lawns appeared 

Under the opening eyelids of the dawn, 
We drove afield," 

The sun, when above the horizon, is called by the poets the eye of day : 
becce his earliest beams, before he is risen, are the eyelids, or eyelashes, of 



JOB. 191 

^ the morning. Schultens observes, that the Arabian poets compare the sun 
to an eye, and attribute eyelashes to it. See ad loc. 

12. Why did the knees receive me ? Why did the officious midwife 
receive me, and lay me upon her lap, and not suffer me to fall to the 
ground and perish ? Or it may refer to the father, as it was usual for him 
to take the child upon his knees as soon as it was born, and thus to 
declare that it was his own, and that he intended to bring it up. Gen. 1. 
23. See Jahn's Archaeol. § 161. 

14. Who built up for themselves — ruins I i. e. splendid palaces, or, 
perhaps, tombs, destined soon to fall into ruins. See Is. xliv. 26. In the 
form of expression, the line is similar to Hab. ii. 13 ; Jer. li. 58. 

That nations shall labor for fire, 

And kingdoms weary themselves for nought. 

i. e. for that which shall be burnt up, &c. Otherwise, The repairers of 
desolated places ; a circumstance mentioned to show their wealth, grandeur 
and glory. See Is. Iviii. 12, Ixi. 4 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 10. 

20. The name of the Supreme Being is often omitted in this book, and 
the pronoun made to supply its place. In such cases the pronoun is 
printed, in this version, with a capital letter. This corresponds to the 
custom in Scotland, where they say, '* May His will be done ! " '* May 
His name be praised ! " without an antecedent to the pronoun. So in 
Scott's Black Dwarf, near the end of Chap. VII. : 

** 0, my child, before you run on danger let me hear you but say, ^ His 
will be done ! ' " 

" Urge me not, mother — not now." He was rushing out, when, looking 
back, he observed his grandmother make a mute attitude of affliction. He 
returned hastily, threw himself into her arms, and said, •' Yes, mother, I 
can say, ' His will be done ! ' since it will comfort you." 

** May He go forth — may He go forth with you, my dear bairn : and 0, 
may He give you cause to say, on your return, * His name be praised ! ' " 

23. — from whom the way is hid, Sfc. : i. e. who knows not which way 
to turn himself ; who can see no way of escape from the miseries, which, 
in the latter clause of the verse, are represented as surrounding him, as 
with a high wall or hedge. 

24. — my sighing com,eth before Teat : i. e. it cometh on when I begin to 
eat, and prevents my taking my necessary nourishment. So Juv. Sat. xiii. 
211. : 

Perpetua anxietas, nee mensae tempore cessat. 
25 for thai ivhich I dread, ^-c, I understand this as referring to con- 
tinual fears caused by the disease, which fears are said not to be greater 
than his actual miseries. See note on ii. 7, where uneasiness and grief are 
mid to be caused by the disease. 



192 NOTES. 



Ill 

In the fourth and fifth chapters, Eliphaz, one of the three friends who had 
come to comfort Job, is represented as constrained by his intemperate 
language to express those sentiments, and vent those suspicions, which the 
view of his miserable condition had suggested, and which, from pity and 
delicacy, had been hitherto suppressed. The inhumanity of Eliphaz and 
the other friends of Job, which by many is thought unnatural, serves to 
introduce and help forward the discussion of the moral question which it 
was the main design of the poem to illustrate. 

He reproves Job's impatience, and exhorts him not to give way to grief 
and despondency, but to put in practice those lessons which he had so 
often recommended to others. He then advances the doctrine which he and 
his friends maintain throughout the poem, that misery implies guilt ; and 
insinuates that the wickedness of Job was the cause of his present afflic- 
tions. Ch. iv. 2-11. In support of his views he brings forward a 
revelation which he professes to have formerly received in a vision. This 
revelation asserts the exceeding imperfection of human virtue, the absolute 
rectitude of God, and the impiety of arraigning the justice of his moral 
government. The oracle itself is therefore excellent. It is the application 
of it in which Eliphaz is mistaken. He has erroneous notions of what the 
justice of God requires. He supposes that it implies that all suffering 
must be the punishment of sin ; and he seems to condemn Job not only 
for his actual complaints, but also for not regarding and acknowledging 
his afflictions to be the merited punishment of his transgressions. 12- 21. 

In the fifth chapter he is more direct, as well as more severe, in his 
censures, and exhorts Job to humble himself before God, and repent of his 
sins. He assures him that, by such a course, he may regain his former 
prosperity. 

Ch. IV. 5. But now if, i. e. calamity, ^c. 

6. Is not thy fear, 8fc, These words may be understood as a friendly 
admonition to Job to recollect his religious principles, and to support him- 
self by the clearness of his conscience. On the other hand, they may im- 
port that no good man would fall into despair under affliction, as he had 
done. There is an appearance of art in this ambiguity. Scott. 

As the substantive verb is understood, some critics prefer to render it 
thus : 

Was not thy fear of God thy hope ? 
And the uprightness of thy ways thine expectation ? 
i. e. Did not thy piety and integrity spring from the hope of reward, 
from a regard to thine own interest, rather than from the love of God ? 
So Mercier, and Castalio, whose version is. 



JOB. 193 

Nimirum tantum religionis, quantum expectationis; 
Quantum spei, tantum habebas integritatis morum. 

This corresponds with the question of Satan, " Is it for nought that Job 
feareth God?'' 

7, 8. These expressions, also, may be understood as a consolatory argu- 
ment to confirm the hope which conscious integrity should inspire : " Good 
men are sometimes chastised severely for their crimes, but not destroyed; 
calamities which end in destruction are the portion of the wicked only." 
On the other hand, his meaning may be : ** Calamities like yours being 
the lot of wicked men only, some wickedness of yours must needs have 
brought these calamities upon you." Here, then, we have another in- 
stance of artful ambiguity. Scott. 

10. Unjust and rapacious men are in Scripture frequently called lions. 
See Ps xxxiv. 10; Iviii. 6. 

19. Who crumble to pieces, as if rnoth-eaten ! Lit. They crumble 
them to pieces y as the moth a garment. So Ros., who remarks, after 
Schultens and Noldius, that the particle "•jaS often has the meaning, as, 

like, tanquam. Thus, 1 Sam. i. 16, *' Regard not thy servant as a daugh- 
ter of Belial." The Sept. has it, arirhg toottov, and the old Vulg., tanquam 
tinea; the Vulg., sicut a tinea. Comp. ch. xiii. 28; Is. i. 9, li. 8. 

20. Between morning and evening, ^c. The meaning is, They live 
scarcely a single day. See Ex. xviii. 14; Isa. xxxviii. 12. It is not the 
frequent occurrence of death in the course of a day, but the shortness of 
man's life, that is meant to be expressed. So Pindar, Pyth. viii. 135 

^EnauBQoi, ri Sf jig; rl S^ ov rig; 

2y.iag 6raQ Icvd^wnoi. 

Beings of a day ! What is man ? What is he not ? 

He 's the dream of a shadow ! 

— and none regardeth it. The destruction of mankind by death is not re- 
garded, or minded, by the rest of the creation. This is only a rhetorica. 
way of representing how insignificant a creature man is, compared with 
the higher orders of beings. 

Ch. V. 1. See if any one, ^c. i. e. will take thy part, and advocate 
thy cause. 

— to which of the holy ones wilt thou look ? i. e. whom amongst the 
heavenly host wilt thou persuade to be thine advDcate, or to take thy part, 
in a controversy with the Almighty? The wcrds call and answer are 
used in this judicial sense in ch. xiii. 22, xiv. 15, and in other places. 
Another less probable meaning is that of Grotius and others, who suppose 
that Eliphaz, having triumphantly produced a divine revelation in support 
of his views respecting the conduct of Job, calls upon him to bring for- 

9 



194 NOTES. 

ward something of the same kind in his defence, if he could, — to call and 
see if any of the heavenly spirits would answer him, and give a revelation 
in his favor. 

2. Verily grief destroy eth the fool. Grief and wrath hasten the destruc- 
tion of the foolish man, either by preying upon his spirits, or by drawing 
down upon him severe punishment from the Almighty. His sufferings are 
the fruit of his own criminal passions. The terms foolish and weak are 
often, in Scripture, applied to impious and wicked men. 

3. — I cursed his habitation. This may mean, I predicted his downfall 
See Gerard's Inst., § 882. Or, I actually witnessed the sudden ruin of 
his fortunes, and pronounced his habitatiorf accursed. 

4. — at the gate : i. e. in the courts of justice, which used to be held at 
the gates of cities. See Jahn's Archaeol., § 247. 

5. — the thorns : i. e. the hedge of thorns. 

6. For affliction comtth not, ^-c. The meaning appears to be. The 
afflictions of life are not to be ascribed to chance, or to merely natural 
causes, but to the will of Heaven. 

7. Behold, man is born to trouble: i. e. men are born under a law, or 
with a constitution, which subjects them to sorrow as soon as they be- 
come transgressors. Bishop Patrick's paraphrase is, ** God hath made it 
as natural for man to suffer, (having offended him,) as it is for the sparks 
to fly upward." ^"S ^12, sons of flame, or of lightning, may denote 

sparks, or birds swift as lightning. As birds have not been mentioned, the 
former seems the closest rendering. 

15. — oppressed. This version is obtained by altering the points 2T\D 

{from the sword) to 3'ino, hophal participle from D*in. This amendment 

of the text is adopted by Durell, Michaelis, Dathe, Doederlein, Eichhorn, 
and others. 

16. — iniquity stoppeth her mouth : i. e. unrighteous and insidious op- 
pressors are confounded and struck dumb, when they see their schemes 
frustrated, and find themselves entangled in the snares which they have 
laid for others. See Ps. cvii. 41, 42. 

23. For thou shall be in league with the stones of the field: i. e. thou 
shalt be secure from injury from the stones in walking, journeying, &c 
See Ps. xci. 11, 12. Dr. Shaw observes : ** The custom, which still con- 
tinues, of walking either barefoot or with slippers, requires the ancient 
compliment of bringing water, upon the arrival of a stranger, to wash 
his feet." — ** The feet, being thus unguarded, were every moment liable 
to be hurt and injured ; and from thence perhaps the danger, without the 
divine assistance, which ever protects us from the smallest misfortunes, 
of dashing them against a stone, Ps. xci. 12, which perhaps may further 
illustrate that diflScult text. Job v. 23, of being in league with the ^tont^ 



JOB. 195 

vf the field:' Shaw's Travels, &c. Vol. 1. p. 428. Or, Thy field shall be 
free from stones, which would make it barren. 

24. — tent. There is some doubt whether Sni< should be rendered tent^ 
according to its primary meaning, or house, habitation, its secondary mean- 
ing. For in ch. xxix. 7, and other passages, Job is represented as dwelling 
in a city. — and not be disappointed. Lit. miss ; used of slingers, Judg. 
XX. 16 : i. e. thou shalt find all thy household affairs in such a condition 
as meets thy best wishes and expectations. HI J here rendered thy dwelling, 
may denote thy fi)ld or pasture. It occurs in the Scriptures in both senses. 
But as it is parallel with tent, and occurs in verse third of this chapter in 
the sense of habitation, I prefer the latter sense here. 



IV. 



In reply to the harsh censures and insinuations of EHphaz, Job justifies 
the boldness of his complaints by the severity of the afflictions which ex- 
torted them from him. Ch. vi. 2-13. He complains of the unkindncssof 
his friends in pronouncing him guilty because he was miserable, and in 
coming to him with reproaches instead of consolations. 14-23. He re- 
quests them to treat him with fairness ; to examine his case, and not to con- 
demn him on account of his miserable condition. 24 -30. He proceeds to 
speak of the miseries and of the shortness of human life, from which he 
passes to his own condition, and expostulates with the Deity upon the 
greatness of his afflictions, and their long continuance. Ch. vii. 

Ch. VI. 2. — my grief: i. e. my distress or my affliction. He wishes 
that his afflictions, together with the distress of mind caused by them, 
might be put into one scale, and weighed against the sand of the sea in 
the other. This is only a poetical way of saying that they were insup- 
portable. 

3. — rash. See Ges. Lexicon, upon n^^S. 

4. For the arrows. His distress, arising from his other afflictions as well 
as his disease, is compared to that of a person shot with poisoned arrows. 
He exaggerates his distress by the circumstance that these arrows are hnrled 
by the arm of the Almighty. 

5. Doth the wild ass bray, ^c. As the lower animals do not complain by 
braying and lowing, when they have plenty of food, so neither should I 
complain, were it not for the insupportable weight of my afflictions. 



196 NOTES. 

6. Can that which is unsavory, S^c, Men usually complain of their 
food, when it is unsavory; but how much greater reason have I to com- 
plain, when I am obliged to bear those afflictions at the very thought of 
which I used to shudder ! Some critics, however, suppose that he here 
lashes Eliphaz for his harangue on the blessings of patience, and charac- 
terizes his discourse as insipid, impertinent, and disgusting. — white of an 
egg. It may be that the term n^D^H? which occurs not elsewhere in the 

Scriptures, rather denotes pur slain , an herb which was proverbial for its 
insipidity among the Arabs, Greeks, and Romans. The literal meaning 
will then be, 7s there any taste in purslain saliva 1 a contemptuous 
expression fov purslain broth. But as the comparison is more expressive 
to the English reader according to the common version, and has the 
support of the Rabbins and Targums, I retain it. 

7. What my soul, ^c. In order to justify this rendering, which in 
sense is that of the Common Version, it is not necessary to decide whether 
there is an ellipsis of the relative y^i^ or not ; or whether such an ellip- 
sis is an allowable idiom of Hebrew Grammar, or not. It is certainly most 
probable that Ti^T] refers to the calamities or sufiferings, expressed in 

verses 2-4. My version sufficiently expresses this reference without ad- 
ding anything which is not implied in the connection. 

9. — let loose his hand. Lit. loosen his hand, which, when inactive, is 
figuratively regarded as bound, and when exerted, as set free. — make 
an end of me ! a metaphor, which seems to be borrowed from the practice 
of a weaver, who cuts off the web, when it is finished, from the thrum, 
by which it was fastened to the beam. 

10. — / would exult : lit. leap. I^D occurs only once in the Scriptures, 

except as a proper name. I now prefer the rendering exult, as better 
supported by tradition, and rather better suited to the parallelism and the 
connection, than the former rendering, be consumed, lit. burn. The Sept. 
has it ijXkvuy]v ; the old Latin, saliebam ; the Chald. exultarem. It is 
also supported by a similar word in the Arabic. See Ges. Lex. in verb. 

11. — Jind what mine end, that I should be patient? i. e. How distant 
mine end ? How long have I to live ? Or, since my end, threatened by my 
disease, is so near, why should I not prefer to die at once, and invoke 
destruction, rather than bear continued calamities with patience ? Am I 
not so much exhausted, and brought so near my end, as to have reason to 
be impatient ? 

13. DXn is used as an adverb of exclamation in this and other passages. 

See Ges. In the Vulg. ecce ! For the rendering deliverance, see Ges 
So the Sept., S:>i'i&na Se an'' fuov censor iv. Arab, salus. 

14. Else ' The particle ) is so rendered in the common version, in 



JOB. .197 

Ps. li. 1 6 Thou desirest not sacrificv^, else would I give it. — he : i. e. 
the friend who does not show kindness to the afflicted. 

15-20. But my brethren, ^c. This simile is exquisitely beautiful, 
considered as a description of a scene of nature in the deserts of Arabia. 
But its principal beauty lies in the exact correspondence of all its parts to 
the thing it is intended to represent. The fulness, strength, and noise of 
these temporary streams in winter answer to the large professions made to 
Job in his prosperity by his friends. The drying up of the waters, at the 
approach of summer, resembles the failure of their friendship in his 
affliction. And the confusion of the thirsty caravans, on finding the 
streams vanished, strongly illustrates his feelings, disappointed as he was 
of the relief he expected in these men's friendly counsels. Scott. 
Schultens observes that the Arabs compare a treacherous friend to one 
of these torrents, and hence say, *' I put no trust in the flowing of thy 
torrent ; " and, *' torrent, thy flowing subsides." — that pass away ; 
Com. xi. 16. 

16. — the ice : i. e. which melts on the hills and flows into them. 
— hides itself in them : i. e. melts and flows into them. Scott observes that 
these streams are first formed by the autumnal rains. The warmth and 
rains of the spring, melting the ice and snow on the mountains, increase 
them. They then rush down into the valleys, in a large body of iurbid 
water, and assume the appearance (d deep rivers. The beds of these 
winter rivers are also called torrents. Bishop Pococke saw several of them 
perfectly dry, in his journey to Mount Sinai in the month of April. See 
Pococke's Description of the East, Vol. I. pp. 139- 141. 

17. — flow forth: i. e. as soon as the snowwater is exhausted, the 
streams disappear. The contrast is between streams from natural peren- 
nial fountains, and those which proceed from torrents of melted snow and 
ice. 

18. The caravans, ^c. : i. e. The caravans turn aside to them with the 
expectation of finding a supply of water, but are disappointed, and obliged 
to pursue their journey without a supply in the desert, where they perish 
with thirst. Thus it agrees, in its general meaning, with the following 
verses. — go up into the desert : which, like the sea, seems to rise to him 
that beholds it. 

20. — their place : i. e. the place or channel of the streams, where they 
flowed before they were dried up. 

21. — terror ; i. e. my terrible sufi'erings. 

22. — a present : i. e. to the judge, to secure his good-will by a bribe. 

25. — what do your reproaches prove ? i. e. what guilt do they convict 
me of ? 

26. Do ye mean to censure words 7 i e. Do ye think it reasonable to 
carp at mere words, extorted from me by extreme misery * You ought to 



198 NOTES. 

consider that a man in the extremity of misery utters many inconsiderate 
expressions, which ought not to be severely censured, but rather laid to 
the account of human infirmity, and regarded as Jdle wind. 

27. Truhj ye spread, ^c. The expressions in this verse are proverbial, 
and refer to the cruelty of his friends in bringing unfounded charges 
against his moral character. 

28. Look now upon me, I pray you. He may be understood literally, 
as requesting them to look in his face, and see if he betrayed any signs of 
falsehood or guilt ; or figuratively, as requesting them to be more favora- 
ble to him, and to give him a hearing ; to judge from his appearance 
whether he was false or guilty. 

29. Return, ^c. : i. e. to the discussion. 

80. Is there iniquity, ^c. : i. e. Is there any falsehood or wickedness in 
what I have said, or am about to say? Have not I the capacity of dis- 
tinguishing right from wrong, and truth from falsehood, as well as your- 
selves ; and if I had said or done anything wrong, should I not be 
conscious of it ? 

Ch. VII. 1. Is there not a war-service. The word XD]f is rendered 

warfare, in Is. xl. 2, in the common version. The Vulg., Syr., and Arab. 
render it so in this verse. But the ^expression has particular reference to 
the hard and wearisome service which the military life required, and to 
the longing of the soldier to see the end of it. 

6. My flesh, ^-c. Maundrell, describing ten lepers whom he saw in 
Palestine, says : " The whole distemper, indeed, as it there appeared, was 
so noisome, that it might well pass for the utmost corruption of the human 
body on this side the grave.'* Maundrell's Journey, p. 252, &c. Amer. 
edit. 

7. O remember, S^-c. He here turns to the Deity, and pleads the short- 
ness of life as a reason why he should be relieved from his sufierings. In 
fer. 9, 10, he urges, for the same reason, the certainty that he should not 
return to life. 

8. Thine eyes shall look for me. See note on ver. 22. 

9. — th!" grave. Lit. to sheol, the underworld. 

12. Am la sea. ^c. He complains that God treated him as though he 
were some furious tyrant, whom only the most severe inflictions could 
restrain from exceeding the bounds of justice, and spreading destruction 
among mankind. *' Am I as fierce and dangerous as the raging sea, or as 
some strong and ungovernable sea-monster, both of which must be re- 
strained by great exertions, and watched with unceasing vigilance, lest 
they should spread destruction and death ? " Michaelis thinks that by 
the ea Job meant the Nile, which, when it risea beyond a certain height. 



JOB. 199 

becomes an inundation, and causes immense damage. Schultens quotes 
Arabsjah, an Arabic poet, who calls Tamerlane ** a vast sea, swallowing up 
everything. " Burder observes : *' Crocodiles are very terrible to the in- 
habitants of Egypt ; when, therefore, they appear, they watch them with 
great attention, and take proper precautions to secure them, so that they 
may not be able to avoid the deadly weapons afterwards used to kill them. - 
To these watchings and those deadly after-assaults I apprehend Job 
refers. ' ' 

15. — rather than these my bones. Lit. rather than my bones : i. e. 
than the wretched skeleton, which is nearly all that is left of me. 

16. I am wasting away. The Hebrew word, thus rendered, is transla- 
ted melt away, in the common version, in Ps. Iviii. 7. The Arab., accord- 
ing to Walton, is. Jam viribus defectus sum. 

17. 18. Job suggests that it was beneath the character of the infinite 
God to bestow so much time and attention, and such vigilant inspection, 
upon so insignificant a being as man ; and this for no other purpose than to 
mark and punish all his defects and failures. 

19. — look away from me : i. e. turn away thine angry countenance 
from me, or cease to afflict me. So xiv. 6. " This is a metaphor drawn 
from combatants, who never take their eyes off from their antagonists." 
Schultens. — till I have time to breathe. I have substituted this for the 
proverb, which is literally rendered in the common version, and which has 
been retained in Arabia to the present day, by which they understand, 
** Give me leave to rest after my fatigue." There are two instances 
(quoted by Schult. in loc.) in Hariri's JVarratives, entitled the 
Assembly. One is of a person who, when eagerly pressed to give an ac- 
count of his travels, answered with impatience, " Let me swallow down 
my spittle, for my journey hath fitigued me." The other instance is of a 
quick return made to one who used that proverb ; " Suffer me," said the 
person importuned, " to swallow down my spittle ; " to which his friend 
replied, * You may, if you please, swallow down even the Tigris and 
Euphrates ; " that is, You may take what time you please. Burder. 

20. If I have sinned, ^c : i. e. *' Suppose, for a moment, that I have 
sinned, yet as I can have done thee no injury, as my sins cannot have 
affected thy safety or happiness, I see not why I should be treated with 
such severity, and even set up for a mark at which thou mayst shoot thine 
arrows." The particle QJ<, i/", is often understood. The Sept. has supplied 

it here : «?' f/cu I'uaorov. So the Arab, and Syr. See Ges. Gram. § 152. 4. — 
what have I done to thee ? i. e. what injury have I done to thee ? The verb 
ni^I? signifies to do an injury, in Exod. xiv. 11 ; Gen. xix. 8, xx ii. 12. This 

sentiment agrees better with the context, and is also found in ch. xxxv. 6. — O 
thou watcher of men ! i. e. thou that watchest iren strictly, and markest 



200 NOTES. 

all their sins. The word is undoubtedly used in an invidious sense, and 
not merely to express the general truth that God takes notice of human ac- 
tions. See ver. 12, and xiv. 16. Dr. Kennicott renders it, O ilwu spy 
upon men! The word "^^2, v^spector, is rendered watchman, in 2 Kings 

xvii. 9, in the common version; and in ch. xxvii. 18, of this poem, it de- 
notes the watchman of a vineyard. The Sept. has it, 6 iuioruusvog t6v vovv 
TMv av&Qoiinov, The same sentiment is expressed in ch. x. 6, xiii. 27, and 
elsewhere. The word might be rendered preserver, in another connection, 
since a person sometimes watches a thing for its preservation ; but noi 
properly here, where the Deity is represented as the avenger of sin. — So 
that I have become a burden to myself 1 The Sept. renders the two last 
lines. 

Why hast thou set me up for thy mark, 
And why have I become a burden to thee ? 

The Hebrew copy, from which they translated, had nt^j; instead of ""Sj^. 

The Masorites also place this amongst the eighteen passages which they 
say were altered by transcribers. In this case the reading preserved by 
the Sept. may have been altered by some transcriber who supposed the 
sentiment which it conveyed to be irreverent to the Deity. But, as the re- 
ceived text is supported by all the versions except the Sept., and by all the 
Hebrew manuscripts hitherto examined, it may be retained, notwithstand- 
ing the intrinsic probability that the Sept. has preserved the true reading. 
22. Soon shall I sleep in the dust. He urges the shortness of the term 
of life which yet remained to him, as a reason why he should be relieved 
from his afflictions; and he intimates, in the latter clause of the verse, 
that death would, as it were, put it out of the power of the Deity to favor 
him, should he relent and be inclined to mercy, since he should be no 
longer in existence. So Castalio explains it : " Nisi mihi in hac vita bene- 
facias et condones, non erit post mortem locus." So Poole : '* When thou 
shalt diligently seek for me, that thou mayst show favor to me, thou wilt 
find that I am dead and gone, and so wilt lose thy opportunity. Help, 
therefore, speedily." 



V. 

In chapter eighth, Bildad, another of Job's professed friends, comes for- 
ward as a disputant, interrupting him in his discourse, and reproving 
him with severity for the boldness of his language in regard to his afflic- 
tions, and for his firm protestations of his innocence, as if he had thereby 
called in question the justice of the Deity. He holds the opinion that, un- 
der the government of a being infinitely wise and good, afflictions cannot 
take place, unless for the purposes of vindictive justice. Hence he asserts 



JOB. 201 

that the children of Job had perished on account of their wickedness ; 
although he had no grounds for the assertion, but that of their ruin. He 
tells Job that if he were in reality the devout and upright man he pro- 
fessed to be, he would again be restored to prosperity. He quotes a pas- 
sage from an ancient poem, representing by striking images the miserable 
condition of the wicked, and holds out to Job the hope of the renewed 
favor of God, as the reward of repentance. 

These exhortations to repentance, addressed, as they were, to one whom 
Jehovah had pronounced an upright and good man, are to be regarded as 
an indirect mode of charging him with perverseness and guilt. Thus it 
appears that Bildad agrees with Eliphaz in the opinion that misery is a de- 
cisive proof of wickedness. 

Ch. VIIL 2. — like a strong wind ? The same figure is found in 
Aristoph. Ran. 872. : Tvifcogyao ey.fiairsiv naoaay^vutirai' A tempest of 
words is preparing to burst forth. So in Sil. Italicus, XI. 581. : 

— qui tanta superbo 
Facta sonas ore, et spumanti turbine perflas 
Ignorantum aures. 

6. — thy righteous habitation : i. e. the abode where thou shalt dwell, a 
righteous man. Bildad insinuates, says Schultens, that the dwelling of 
Job had hitherto been the abode of wickedness. 

7. So that thy beginning shall be small : i. e. thy former prosperity 
shall appear small, compared with that which thou shalt hereafter enjoy, 
if thou art pure and righteous. So the Sept., "' EoTai ra u^v jiQuna oov 
6Xiya. So Castalio, Adeo ut fuerit tua prior conditio tenuis, prce ut 
posterior amplificabitur. Thus the poet puts into the mouth of Bildad a 
reference, undesigned on his part, to what is afterwards recorded to have 
taken place in the fortunes of Job : *' Jehovah blessed the latter end of 
Job more than the bpginning.'*^ xlii. 12. Bildad had no prophetic an- 
ticipation of this, but merely utters a general promise, naturally suggested 
Dy the subject; while the writer intended that it should refer to the subse- 
quent history of Job. The skill of the poet is manifested in this way in 
several passages, and reminds one of the admirable use made of this ex- 
pedient to give interest and pathos to their compositions by the most cele- 
brated Greek dramatists, as by Sophocles, for instance, in his (Edipus 
Tyrannus. 

11. — paper-reed: TrctTruooc, Sept. See Ges. "We are entertained here, 
s-ays Mr. Scott, with a specimen of the manner of conveying moral instruc- 
tions in the oldest times of the world. They couched their observations in 
pithy sentences, or wrapped them in concise similitudes ; and cast them 
into metre to fix them in the memory. Bp. Lowth mentions the words of 
Laraech to his two wives, (Gen. iv. 23, 24,) as the oldest example of this 

kind on record. 

9* 



202 NOTES. 

17. — heap, I now prefer this rendering, as favored by the parallelism, 
and by its connection with the verb entwined. — And he seeth the place of 
stones : i. e. taketh deep root in the earth. Thus the verse denotes the 
flourishing, and apparently durable, condition of the wicked man. So 
Mercier, Doed., Ges. See Ps. i. 3, xxxvii. 35; Jer. xvii. 8. 

18. The particle DX, translated if in the common version, is often 

used for emphasis, or asseveration, and, according to the connection, may 
be rendered, truly, indeed, yea, yet, behold! to! &c., or occasionally 
omitted. See Noldius in verb. 

19. — from his place. Lit./ror/i the earth or soil from which the tree 
f7as removed. Thus others shall fill the place and enjoy the wealth of the 
wicked man who is taken away. See xxvii. 16, 17, and Eccles. ii. 18. So 
Merc, Ros. Bat Dathe and Eichhorn, and another shall spring up in 
his place ! i. e. other wicked men, not deterred by his dreadful fate, shall 
take his place, and follow his example. 

21. Instead of 1J7, it is better to alter the point, and read y^. So 

floub., Michaelis, Be Wette. 



VI. 

In reply to Bildad, who bad charged him with virtually denying the jus- 
tice of God, Job remarks that he knows full well the greatness and holi- 
ness of God, and the weakness and sinfulness of man; intimating that he 
does not pretend to be free from the infirmities and sins which are common 
to the human race. But these, in his view, are incident to the best of 
men, sa that no one can answer to one charge of a thousand in a contro- 
versy with God. Admitting this, however, it by no means follows that 
one whom God pleases to afflict is a wicked man ; or, that he is a great sin- 
ner who suffers great affliction. Ch. ix 1-3. He maintains that in the 
distribution of happiness and misery God is an absolute sovereign, influ 
enced by no consideration but that of his own inscrutable and irresistible 
will; that his afflictions, therefore, ought not to be attributed to the jus- 
tice of God, but rather to be ranked with those acts of Providence which 
confound all our reasonings. 4 - 14. He says, that though he is conscious 
of no guilt which should draw down upon him the afflictions which he suf- 
fered, yet he will not attempt to defend himself before the majesty of God; 
that he is weak; that the contest is unequal; that, were his cause ever so 
just, he could not hope to prevail; that, though he is conscious of inno- 
cence, he would not enter into a controversy with God in order to save his 
life. 15-21. (It may be observed here, that, when Job asserts his inno- 
cenoe, he does not lay claim to entire freedom from fault. He means only 



JOB. 203 

thai he is innocent of the charges of secret crimes brought against him by 
his friends; that he is free from uncommon guilt, which his friends held 
to be the cause of his great misery; that he is, in fine, a sincere, upright 
man. ) He afiSrms that misery, fir from being a proof of uncommon guilt, 
is equally the portion of the righteous and of the Tvicked. 22 - 24. Passing 
to the contemplation of his own misery, he asserts that his righteousness 
avails him nothing; that his cause cannot be brought to a fair trial; and 
that the majesty and power of God reduce him to silence. 25 - 35. Then 
with great earnestness and pathos he expostulates with the Deity on ac- 
count of his severity to the work of his own hands, continues to assert his 
innocence, and urges the shortness of the term of life which yet remained 
to him, as a reason why he should be relieved from his miseries. Ch. x. 

In regard to apparent inconsistencies in the language of Job, it may be 
observed here that he is represented as agitated by various contending emo- 
tions. Fear and hope, despair and confidence, the spirit of submission and 
of bold complaint, by turns have possession of his mind; and, as either 
predominates, it gives, of course, a character to his language. Truth in 
the exhibition of opposite feelings and passions requires some inconsistency 
in language and sentiment. Disregard of this obvious truth led Dr. Kenni- 
cott to propose some alterations of the text, which, if adopted, would great- 
ly injure the poem. 

Ch. IX. 3. If he choose : i. e. If God choose t-o mark strictly the sins of 
which all men are guilty, and accuse them of these sins; or, if man 
choose to enter into controversy with God. 

5. He removeih the mountainsy and they know it not. This is a Heb. 
idiom, meaning, He removeth them suddenly or unexpectedly ; as it were, 
before they, i. e. the mountains, are aware of it. So in Ps. xxxv, 8, where, 
in the Hebrew, the expression *' a/ unawares^'' is '^ let him not know,"** 
Schultens remarks that the same idiom occurs frequently in the Koran. 

6. — the pillars thereof. The earth is represented as an edifice, sup- 
ported by pillars, resting on foundations, having a corner-stone, &c. See 
ch. xxxviii. 4-6. Earthquakes seem to make these pillars tremble. Ac- 
cording to the same mode of conception respecting the earth, it is repre- 
sented as standing forever, Ecc. i. 4, and as reeling like a drunkard, and 
moving like a hammock, in Is. xxiv. 20. 

7. He commandeth, ^c. Some suppose the allusion is to the efi'ects of 
an eclipse ; others, to those of a continued storm, as in Acts xxvii. 20; 
and others, that he asserts that light and darkness depend upon God ; that, 
if lie forbid, the sun and the stars cease to shine. To seal up, or to shut 
up as with a seal, I suppose to be a figurative expression, denoting great 
or total obscuration. The expression to seal up is used with great latitude 
of signification. See ch. xxxiii. 16, xxxvii. 7. 



204 NOTES. 

8. — spreadeth out, SfC. Comp. Is. xl. 22. Otherwise, boweth down the 
heavens. See Ps. xviii. 9-15. This latter version would denote the 
descent of black, heavy clouds, in a great storm. — walketh upon the 
high waves. The Egyptian hieroglyphic for what was not possible to be 
done was a man walking on the water. Burder, 

9. — the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiads. The Hebrew names are Ash, 
Chesil, and Chimah. See note upon ch. xxxviii. 31, 32. — secret chambers 
vf the South : i. e. the remotest regions of the South, the constellations of 
which are invisible to the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere. 

1 2. seizeth : as a lion his prey. 

13. God will not turn away his anger : i. e. on account of any opposi- 
tion which may be made to it. Dei irrevocabilis ira est. Castalio. 

15. — / would not answer him. The word is used in a judicial sense, 
and means, I would not undertake to make my defence. 

16. Should I call, and he make answer to me. The words 5<*^p and nJ^ 

are supposed by Schultens, and by most critics since his time, to be used 
in a judicial sense. Si in jus vocarem, ut actor, et responderet mihi com- 
pellatus, seque sisteret. If, as plaintiff, I should summon him to trial, 
and he should make answer, aAd consent to stand as defendant, I could 
scarcely believe it; for although I am conscious of uprightness, yet, from 
the severe afflictions under which I suffer, I have reason to conclude that 
he will act no other part towards me than that of an absolute sovereign 
v^ho will give no account of his doings. 

19. If I look to strength. Lit. If to, or concerning, the strength of 
the mighty : i. e. if it be a question of strength, &c. See Jer, xlix. 19,1. 
44. If we adopt the various reading, found in the Sept. and Syr , ) instead 
of % we may translate. 

If I look to strength, lo, he is strong ! 

If to justice, who shall summon him to trial ? 

Thus Dathe and Eichhorn render the verse. 

20, 21. Though I were upright, ^c. The meaning probably is. Though 
I am conscious of no guilt, and though my cause is just, yet were I as 
pure as an angel, I should not be able to sustain myself, and make good 
my defence before the brightness of the divine majesty notwithstanding 
■^he testimony of my conscience, I would give up all care for myself, every 
effort to preserve my life, rather than enter into a vain controversy with a 
Being infinitely above me, so superior in strength. 

22. It is all one. The meaning may be either, All things are now 
alike to me; I am indifferent as to what may happen to me; or, It is all 
one whether a person be righteous or wicked, so far as his fortune is con- 
cerned. Some suppose, however, that ^^TTHns^ should be render*^d, He is 



JOB. - 205 

the one; unicus esU i. e. He is unlike all others; he stands alone; he is 
bound by no rules, and gives no account of his matters. Comp. ver. 32. 

24. — covereth the face of the judges. Either, God treats them as con- 
demned malefactors, overwhelming them with calamities, disgrace, and 
ruin, Job himself being one example of this melancholy truth. Scott. 
See 2 Sam. xv. 30; Esth. vii. 8; Jer. xiv. 3. Is. xxii. 17; Mark xiv. 65. 
Thus the meaning of the verse will be, God commonly advances wicked 
men to honor and power, and casts down men of true worth and virtue 
from their seats. Or, to cover the face of the judges may have the same 
meaning as the phrase, to blind their eyes, so that they are partial, un- 
just, and oppressive. — If it be not he, who is it ? So the Sept., sl Se ,ui] 
avTog iOTi, Tig ^ariv ; If it be not God who doeth the strange things which 
I have mentioned, who is it that doeth them ? 

25. My days have been swifter than a courier, SfC, Time and enjoy- 
ment; that are succeeded by great misery, appear as an instant that is 
past. The depth of his present affliction makes him forget his former 
prosperity, and to say that he had seen no good during his life. " The 
common pace of travelling in the East is very slow. Camels go little more 
than two miles an hour. Those who carried messages in haste moved very 
differently. Dromedaries, a sort of camel which is exceedingly swift," are 
used for this purpose; and Lady M. W. Montague asserts that they far 
outrun the swiftest horses. Lett. IL 65. There are also messengers who 
run on foot, and who sometimes go an hundred and fifty miles in less than 
twenty-four hours; with what energy then might Job say, * My days are 
swifter than a courier ! ' Instead of passing away with a slowness of mo- 
tion like that of a caravan, my days of prosperity have disappeared with a 
swiftness like that of a messenger carrying dispatches." Harmer, 

26. — reed-skiffs : i. e. *' boats or skiffs made of the papyrus of the Nile, 
in common use among tbe Egyptians and Ethiopians, and famous for their 
lightness and swiftness. Thus Pliny, xiii. 11, Ex ipso quidem papyro 
navigia texunt ; vi. 56, Etiam nunc [naves] in Britannico oceano vitiles 
corio circums'itae sunt ; in Nilo ex papyro, et scirpo, et arundine. And 
Lucan. Pharsal. iv. 136, Conseritur bibula Memphitis cymba papyro. 
Heliodorus, Jjithiop. x. 460, speaks of such boats, Roo&usioig la y.uXuuMv 
nsjTonju^roig, as having been very swift, o^vdooiKoraja. They maybe 
compared in this respect to Indian canoes." 

27. 28. If I say, ^c. : i. e. If I resolve within myself that I will cease 
complaining, and endeavor to be laaore cheerful, I find all such endeavors 
vain ; for if my griefs be suspended for a short time, yet my fears con- 
tinue , for thou, God, wilt not clear my innocence, by removing those 
afflictions which make them judge me guilty of some great crime. Poole. 

29. I shall be found guilty, ^-c. : i. e. Whether I be holy or wicked, if 
I dispute with thee, I shall be found guilty. Why then should I trouble 



206 - NOTES. 

myself with, clearing mine innocency? Poole. Or, I must pass for a 
wicked person ; I am treated as such by God, and condemned by man. 
All my labor, therefore, to clear myself will be to no purpose. 

30. If I wasliy SfC. By washing himself, ^c, and cleansing his hands. 
Sec, he asserts the purity of his heart, and innocence of his life. Thus 
Zophar understood him : ** Thousayest, * My speech is pure ; I am clean 
in thine eyes.' " The Psalmist also declares his own integrity in terms 
somewhat similar : "I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my 
hands in innocency. " Ps. Ixxiii. 13, 

31. Still wilt thou plunge me, ^c. The meaning is, that his calamities 
would cause him to be looked upon by all his intimate friends as an 
abominable wretch, smitten of God, and accursed. No protestations of in- 
nocence, no appeals, no defence whatever, could overcome that prejudice 
against him. — my own clothes. This circumstance is added, I imagine, 
as a heightening of the image of impurity ; to represent more strongly the 
infamy with which his character was blackened by his overthrow. Scott. 

32. For He is not, ^-c. : i. e. He is infinitely superior to me in majesty 
and power, so that I cannot venture to contend with him : i e. to debate 
my cause with him, or to answer his allegations against me ; neither can 
vre go together into judgment : i. e. meet each other face to face, and plead 
upon equal terms before a superior and indifferent judge. 

33. Who may lay his hand tipon us both : i. e. who may have authority 
and power to control either of us who shall exceed the limits of propriety 
in the controversy, and also to oblige us to stand to his decision. 

34. — his rod : i. e. my present afflictions. — his terrors: i. e. the 
terror of his maj 5sty and power. 

35. — and not be afraid of him : i. e. as an opponent in a judici*\l con- 
troversy. I should not fear but that I bhouM be able to make good my 
cause, and prove my innocence. — For I am not so at heart : i. e. as to 
have any reason to fear the result of debating my cause with him upon 
equal terms. So Schult., Le Clerc, Ros. Ov yaQ aw^TTinrauaL uiuvxm 
aSixov Sept. : I am not conscious to myself of unrighteousness. But 
this is paraphrastic. 

Ch. X. 2. — Do not condemn me : 1. e. Do not pronounce me guilty and 
punish me with such severity, without showing me wherein I have offended, 
and what I have done to deserve my sufferings. 

4-7. Hast thou eyes, ^c. : i. e. Seest thou as imperfectly as man? or 
does thy life pass away as swiftly as that of a man ? One might suspect this 
from thy searching after sins in me so thoroughly and so suddenly; i. e. 
from thy inflicting upon me such heavy blows and in such quick succession, 
to brios: me to a confession of sin. Umbreit, 



^ JOB, 207 

8. Have thy hands completely fashioned^ ^c. His argument now is, 
that it looks like caprice to bestow great skill and labor on a work, and 
then on a sudden, and without just cause, dash it in pieces. This is what 
he meant also in verse 3, '* /s it a pleasure to thee . , , to despise the 
work of thy hands ? " Scott. 

9. O remember, Sfc. Here he pleads the common mortality. He must 
soon die, as all other men ; what occasion then for so much torture to dis- 
patch him ? Scott. 

10 - 12. The argument in these verses is taken from God's creating and 
providential goodness towards him, as not being consistent with his present 
treatment of him. Scott, 

13. Vet these things thou didst lay up in thy heart. Bj these things he 
means his calamities ; and insinuates that God had given him being with 
a secret purpose to make him miserable ; and had advanced him so high 
in order to render his fall the more terrible. Scott. — in thy mind : lit. 
with thee; a phrase repeatedly used in this book, and in other parts of 
Scripture, to denote what was in the mind of God, i. e. what was his in- 
tention, or purpose. See ch. xiv. 5, xxiii. 14 ; Ps. 1. 31 ; John xvii. 5. 

15. If I am wicked, as my friends suppose me, then am I indeed un- 
done ! yet though I am righteous, I derive no benefit from it. It is all 
one, whether I am good or bad. 

16. — like a lion thou huntest me. The allusion, in this and the follow- 
ing verse, is to that manner of hunting the lion, wherein the hunters, 
armed with spears and javelins, formed themselves in a ring about the 
beast, and threw their weapons at him one after another. By this image 
Job represents, in lively colors, the violent and rapid succession of his 
calamities. Scott. Another explanation, and perhaps the best, is. Thou 
huntest me, as a furious lion pursues his prey ; but, whereas the lion 
tears his prey speedily, and so ends its torments, thou renewest my calam- 
ities again and again. 

17. Thou renewest thy witnesses : i. e. thy judgments — my afflictions, 
which my friends regard as an evidence of wickedness. — A^ew hosts : lit. 
changes and a host, by the figure hendiadys, for hosts constantly recruited. 
Or, changis may mean afflictions ; and the sense may be, a host of afflic^ 
tio7is. According to the former rendering, new hosts figuratively denote 
miseries constantly succeeding each other. Exercitus immutas contra 
me. Arab, and Syr. 

18. 19. TVhy then, ^c. But for thine agency I should have perished, 
unseen and unknown, and have avoided my present misery and disgrace. 
So in Euripides, Troad. 637, Andromache utters similar sentiments. 

20. Are not my days few 7 ^c. : i. e. My life is short, and hastena 
ftpace to an end. Do not then continue my afflictions to the last moment 



208 NOTES. ^ 

of my existence. Let the very short term of life, which remains to me, ba 
a season of rest and enjoyment. 

21, 22. Before I go — luhence I shall not return^ — SfC. These verses 
contain a description of sheol, or hades, the under- world, the place of all 
the dead. So Sen. Here. Furens, 861. : 

Stat chaos densum, tenebraeque turpes, 
Et color noctis mains, ac silentis 
Otium mundi, vacuseque nubes. 
Sera nos illo referat senectus ! 
Nemo ad id sero venit, unde nunquam. 
Cum semel venit, potuit reverti. 



VII. 

In the eleventh chapter, Zophar the Naamathite, the third of Job's 
friends, comej forward in reply to him. He censures him with severity, as 
guilty of using vain, arrogant, and irreverent language in his bold pro- 
testations of his innocence, and in his loud complaints of unkind treatment 
from the Almighty. 1-4. He speaks of the unfathomable counsels and 
infinite knowledge of the Deity, and, like his predecessors in the contro- 
versy, intimates plainly that the suiferings of Job were the punishment of 
wickedness which the Deity had seen in him, and of which he might easily 
convict him. 5-12. He assures him that, if he would put away his 
wickedness, he might hope to regain his former prosperity ; at the same 
time threatening him with severe judgments if he should continue in his 
sins. 13 - 20. 

Ch. XL 3. Shall thy boastings: i. e. thy false assertions respecting thine 
innocence, and concerning the ways of Providence. 

4. Thou sayest, My speech, or discourse, is pure : For thou pretendest 
not to have offended in word or deed, and that God himself can find no 
reason to condemn thee. Patrick. See ch. x. 7. 

6. His wisdom, which is unsearchable ! This rendering expresses the 
sense, whether we regard D'S£33 as signifying complicated, intricate, or 

double, i. e» manifold. See Ges. in verb. — God forgiveth thee many oj 
thine iniquities. With Ros. and Ges., I take nt!0 in the sense ^o /or^e/. 

T T 

God causeth thee to forget of thine iniquities, i. e, forgiveth a part of them, 

7. — the deep things of God ? See "Ipn in Ges. Sec return Dei, Arab. 

Iv- 

Tnqi^isitionem Dei, Syr. 



JOB. 209 

8. Deeper than hell : i. e. than sheol or hades, the place of the dead 
without distinction of character. See note upon ch. xxvi. 6. 

10. If he apprehend, and bring to trial. The judgments of God upon 
the wicked are here represented by figurative language drawn from the 
arrest, imprisonment, and trial of a criminal. The word VpiD"'!, rendered 

and bring to trial, means, literally, and gather together, as in the common 
version ; it refers to the ancient custom of gathering an assembly of the 
people for the trial of a criminal. See Prov. v. 14 ; Ezek. xvi. 39, 40, 
xxiii. 46. — Who shall oppose him? i. e. Who shall, by entering into an 
argument with the All- wise, defend the criminal with any prospect of 
delivering him ? or, Who shall by force deliver a criminal from his hands ? 

11. He seeth iniquity, when they do not observe it. The words ni3n' ^) 

have been explained in a great variety of ways. I cuppose the verb 
to refer, by an enallage of number, to the unrighteous, in the preceding 
line, or to man understood ; and that the meaning is, that God sees in- 
iquities of which the thoughtless and wicked person who commits them 
has no knowledge. In this, as in the next verse, I suppose Zophar to make 
general remarks with particular reference to the case of Job, who had so 
boldly asserted his innocence. Another mode of understanding the line, 
which has perhaps equal claims with that which I have adopted, is that of 
Cocceius : He seeth iniquity, though he attend not to it : i. e, without an 
effort of attention ; without looking carefully for it. 

12. But vain man is without understandings SfC. ^IlV seems to be 

used in a privative sense, as the word is used in Piel in Cant. iv. 9 : 
** Thou hast deprived me of my heart ;" as it were Thou hast hearted 
me. It has been said that there is no instance in which the privative 
signification of Piel is transferred to Niphal. But, in the last edi- 
tion of his lexicon, Gesenius observes that in Arabic there are instances in 
which other forms of the verb are used in the same way. It is therefore 
probable that a similar usage prevailed in the Hebrew, although from 
the paucity of its remains no other instance occurs. Schultens and Dathe 
render. 

Let then vain man be wise. 

And the wild ass's colt become a man. 

According to this version, the wild ass's colt is used figuratively for a 
pel verse and obstinate man. 

15. Then shall thou lift up thy face without spot. He describes the 
happy change of his condition by its effects in his countenance ; contrast- 
ing his present dejected face, sullied and disfigured by terror, grief, and 
^-ears, with the look he shall then assume, erect, firm, and clear as the 



210 NOTES. 

polished mirror. He may refer to tlie words of Job, x. 15, *• I dare not 
lift up my head.'* Scott 

17. JVbw thou art in darkness. So Merc, Schult., Ges. Ch. x. 22 ; 
-Amos iv. 13. The Chald. has it, Obscuritas tenebrarum quasi lux matu~ 
Una erit. The Syr., Et caliyo sicut aurora erit. 

18. Thou shalt be secure, ^-c. : i. e. Thou shalt feel secure that thy 
prosperity will be permanent, on account of the bright hopes which present 
themselves. — JVoiv thou art disappointed, ^c. The Sept. has it, sx de 

19. Thou shalt lie down, ^c. A metaphor borrowed from flocks lying 
down in the pastures. As in Ps. xxiii. 2, "He maketh me to lie down in 
green pastures." 

20. But the eyes of the wicked shall be wearied out : i. e. by anxiously 
looking for relief from their miseries. — Their hope is — the breathing 
forth of life : i. e. They expect no deliverance from their miseries, but in 
death. Or, Death shall be the issue of their hopes. 



VIII. 

Job begins his reply to Zophar, and his other friends, with a severe 
sarcasm upon the airs of superiority which they had assumed ; and com- 
plains that he had become the object of their contempt, for no other reason 
than his miserable condition. Ch. xii. 1-5. He reasserts his opinion re- 
specting the point in dispute, maintaining that the worst of men, far from 
receiving the punishment which they deserve, oftei\ live in the enjoyment 
of ease and prosperity. 6. They had spoken to him of the wisdom and 
power of God, as if he were entirely ignorant on the subject. Hence he is 
led to say that what they had advanced on this topic is trite and obvious ; 
and to discourse upon the power and providence of God, in a style of 
eloquence well suited to make them ashamed of their pretensions to supe- 
rior intelligence. This discourse may be designed to illustrate generally 
the power and wisdom of God, as contrasted with the weai^ness of man ; and 
also to show that, in the distribution of good and evil. God acts from his 
sovereign will and pleasure alone, and not, as the opponents of Job contended, 
from a regard to the merit or demerit of men; that he treats the righteous 
and the wicked alike ; and consequently, that nothing which he or they 
might advance on the subject of the wisdom and power of God could prove 
him guilty, or that his misery was the punishment of his sins. 7 -xiii. 2. 
He longs to transfer his cause from partial and misjudging man to the 
omniscient and righteous Judge, confident that, if he could have an oppor- 
tunity of pleading his cause before him, he should not fail to vindicate hla 



JOB. 211 

innocence. 3. He accuses his friends of partiality and injustice ; of 
taking part against him from selfish motives and a slavish fear of God's 
power, rather than from honest conviction and a disinterested regard to God's 
honor. 4-11. With the most earnest protestations of innocence, the most 
fervent appeals to the Deity in regard to the justice of his cause, and the 
most pathetic description of his sufferings, he closes ch. xiii. He then 
proceeds to give an affecting view of the miseries of human life, especially 
insisting upon the shortness of it, as a reason why man should be exempted 
from constant and extraordinary sufferings, xiv. 1-6. He complains 
that man's condition is worse than that of the vegetable creation ; since 
the plants, when the hand of death has apparently been upon them, come 
forth again with renovated beauty ; but that to pass from a life of wretch- 
edness to the never-ending sleep of death is a condition too hard to be 
borne. He intimates that, if he had the hope of a second life, he might 
be encouraged to bear with patience his heavy load of afflictions, in the 
hope that, at some future time, a favorable change in his condition might 
take place. But not entertaining this hope, he implores the Deity to grant 
him a trial, so that his true character may appear before he dies ; and 
earnestly expostulates with the Deity on account of his dealings towards 
him. 7-22. 

This chapter, as well as many passages scattered through the poem, 
renders it highly probable, either that Job had no belief in the resurrec- 
tion of the dead, or in a future state of existence equally desirable with the 
present life ; or that the author of the poem excluded from it all regard to 
a future state, as inconsistent with its general plan and design. It con 
tains several assertions of man's ceasing to exist, so fxr as real desirable 
life is concerned. It is true, that, if we make some allowance for the lan- 
guage of strong emotion in which he expresses himself, we may suppose 
that he had some vague notions of the existence of the disembodied spirit, 
in a half-conscious, inactive state, in the interior of the earth, such, for 
instance, as prevailed among the ancient Greeks, but more gloomy and less 
definite ; an existence wholly undesirable, and offering no equivalent for 
the loss of present enjoyments and of the present life. See ch. x. 21, 22, 
and the note. It is almost impossible for the human soul to conceive that 
its consciousness will be wholly lost. See note on xiv. 22. The separate 
existence of the soul seems also to be implied in the distinction which is 
made between sheol and the grave ; the former being represented as a vast 
subterraneous cavern, where all the spirits of the dead dwell together. 
The belief in some sort of existence of the soul after death seems also to be 
implied in the credit which the ancient Hebrews gave to the art of 
necromancy See 1 Sam. xxviii. 3-10. But the language of this chap- 
ter appears to be wholly inconsistent with the supposition that Job had any 
exDectation of a desirable existence after death. It was reserved for the 



212 NOTES. 

Prince of life, the author and finisher of our faith, to bring the glad 
tidings of great joy to the aching hearts of men — to bring life and im- 
mortality to light. 

Some critics have endeavored to lessen the force of Job's express denials 
of a future life, in this chapter, by the remark that he only meant that he 
could not hope to live again in the present world ; but that he might still 
have believed that he should exist hereafter in a better world. I admit 
that a second life in this world was what he intended to deny ; but I 
think it was because he was sceptical in regard to a happy state of existence 
after death. Heaven he evidently regards as the abode of Jehovah and 
his angels alone ; and hades, or the under-world, as a place of gloom and 
horror. If, as he asserts, the hope of living again in this world would 
have afforded him consolation and comfort under his afflictions, then surely 
the hope of a happier state of being than the present life might have 
afforded him still greater comfort and consolation. How can it possibly be 
accounted for that he should sink into despair, because he could not hope 
to enjoy the doubtful good of living again in this world of sin and misery, 
whilst at the same time he believed in the existence of a world of happi- 
ness and purity, to which the righteous were to be admitted ? See note 
upon ch. xix. 25. Inch. x. 21, 22, we have a description of the place 
where Job expected to be after death. 

Ch. XII. 2. — the whole people ? i. e. ye have engrossed all the wisdom 
in the world, and all others are mere brutes or fools ! 

4. 7, who call upon God, that he would answer me 7 i. e I, who am 
so conscious of my uprightness, that I am not afraid to appeal to God, and 
to desire that my cause may be brought to trial, and that the Deity would 
bring his charges against me, and show me the reasons of my afflictions ; 
the words call and answer^ or at least the latter, being used in a judicial 
sense, as in ix. 16, xiii. 22, xxiii. 5, xxxi 35. Castalio and Dathe, how- 
ever, give the same translation as the preceding, but understand the words 
in their common acceptation, which is less suited to the connexion. 

6. Who carry their God in their hand : i. e. Who trust to their strength 
nd their weapons, and have no regard to the Supreme Being. See Hab. 
i. 11, and note. 

7-9. These verses are probably to be regarded as a continuation of 
verse 3 ; the intermediate verses being parenthetical. In reference to the 
discourse of Zophar, who had spoken, with considerable parade, of the 
wisdom of God, and had affected to consider Job as ignorant of it, or as 
having called it in question, he remarks that what Zophar wished to teach 
him was so obvious that it might be learned from the lower animals. They 
made it evident, by their properties, actions, and modes of life, that God 
created the world by his :^isdi»ai , and that he governed it with absolute 



JOB. 213 

dominion ; so that it was not necessary to ascend to heaven, or to go down 
to the under-world, to obtain such knowledge. See xi. 7-9. Others suppose 
the meaning to be, that, in the distribution of happiness and misery, God 
is so f;xr from having a regard to moral distinctions, that even of the 
lower animals the mischievous and rapacious fare well, while the useful 
and gentle meet with harsh treatment from man, or are the prey of the 
rapacious of their own kind. 

9. — among all these : i. e. these irrational creatures, which are repre- 
sented in the preceding verses as teachings declaring, SfC, and in this verse 
in the way of poetical exaggeration, as knowing the wisdom and power of 
the Deity, which they so plainly declare. It is said that '* with the Hin- 
doos, he who refuses instruction, and will not be convinced, is told to ask 
the cattle." Or, in reference to the second exposition of verses 7-9, these 
things may refer to such things as are referred to in ver, 6. See Is. xxii, 
11. Otherwise — hath made these things : i. e. the heaven and earth and 
all things therein, to which Job may be supposed to have directed the at- 
tention of his hearers by the motions of his hands, or of his eyes. So 
Schult. and Cocc. Thus Job declares that the wisdom of God is so plain, 
that all nature, as it were, feels and acknowledges it ; but he means to 
deny that this has anything to do with the question of his guilt or in- 
nocence. 

11, 12. Doth not the ear, ^c. : i. e. As the palate distinguishes the 
sweet from the bitter, so the ear, or rather the mind by the ear, discerns 
truth and falsehood in discourse ; and wisdom is the attribute of age and 
experience. The connection and application of these proverbial maxims are 
by no means so clear as their general meaning. It is probable that he 
means by them to censure his friends for not hearing and weighing his 
observations with more attention, candor, and impartiality, instead of 
despising and rejecting them at once. 

14. Lo ! he pulleth down, ^c. None can repair what He tears down, 
whether houses, castles, or cities. — He hindeth, ^c : i. e. None can 
extricate the man whom he casts into difficulties and straits. Patrick. 
Seech, xxxvi. 8. 

15. Lo ! he withholdeth the waters : whether from the clouds or springs. 
< — and they are dried up. The waters may be said, in a popular sense, to 
be dried up, when they cease to exist in their fountains, and when the 
heavens seem to be changed into brass, and the earth into iron, according 
to the expression in Deut. xxviii. 23. — He sendeih them forth. This 
clause describes an inundation, such as might happen, in Job's country, 
from the torrents caused by too great an abundance of rain. Scott. 

16. The deceived and the deceiver. A proverbial expression, says 
Qesenius, denoting every description of men, — are his: i. e. all alike 
depend upon him for their powers ; the subtle and the weak are alike sub- 
ject to his control, and subservient to the purposes of his providence. 



214 NOTES. 

17. He Icadeih counsellors awaij captive. Statesmen, who promised 
themselves success and victory, as the result of their plans, he disajjpointa 
and leads into captivity ; and judges he deprives of their peculiar attribute, 
reason or discernment. Or judges may denote rulers, whom he infatuates, 
and leads to the adoption of measures which end in their own ruin. 

18. He looseth, S^c. : i. e. He dethroneth kmgs, and leadeth them, 
bound in chains, into servitude. So Mer., Schult., Ges. But Dathe 
renders the verse, 

He looseth the girdle of kings, 

And he encircleth their loins with a belt : 

i. e. He takes away their authority, and he invests them with it. But 
usage does not favor this explanation, as Bos. observes. See Gen. xlii 
24 ; Judg. XV. 13 ; Ps. cxlix. 8. 

19. And overthroweth the mighty : i. e. the mighty men of war, in battle. 

20. He sealeth up the lips : lit. He taketh away the lips. — the trusty : 
i. e. persons of tried wisdom and long experience, to whom the people are 
wont to repair for advice. 

21. And looseth the girdle of the mighty. As the Orientals wore long and 
flowing robes, they were unfit for fighting, or for any kind of active service, 
until they had girded up their loins. Hence to loose the girdle of a per- 
son is to take away his strength, or power of resisting an enemy. Schul- 
tens and others suppose the girdle to be a badge of ofl&ce, and that to loose 
it means to deprive those who wore it of their dignity and honors. 

22. He revealeth deep things out of darkness. Some understand this as 
a general remark, setting forth the infinite knowledge and power of God, 
who can bring to light the most secret things ; as in Matt. x. 26. So 
Merc. Others suppose particular secrets are referred to, such as plots, 
conspiracies, or the deep-laid plans of princes. Others, the hidden designs 
of God himself, which in course of time are brought to light. 

24, 25. He taketh away, ^c. Divine infatuation of the governing 
powers is here described in forcible language and striking resemblances. 
In their confusion, mistakes, perplexity, and distress, they resemble 
persons who have lost themselves in the Arabian solitudes, without a path, 
without a waymark, without a light to guide them ; and their irresolution 
and unstable counsels are like the reeling motions of a drunken man. 
Scott. 

Ch. Xni. 4. — forgers of lies : i. e. in maintaining that great afflic- 
tions are peculiar to the wicked ; and that I am guilty because T am 
miserable. 



JOB. 215 

8. Will ye be partial to his pp.rson ? i. e. Will ye utter falsehoods from 
partiality to him ? The phrase to receive or accept persons was probably 
borrowed from the practice of corrupt rulers or judges, who received or 
admitted to their presence those who came with gifts, and favored their 
cause. 

9. Will it be well for you, if he search you thoroughly ? i. e. If he 
«earch you thoroughly, will he not find that your condemnation of me has 
sprung not so much from honest conviction, as from the selfish desire of 
iV'inning his favor ? 

11. Doth not his majesty make you afraid ? i. e. Is it not a slavish 
fear of what God can do to you that induces you to condemn me without 
proof? 

14. Why do I take my flesh in my teeth 'i nD-b>^. '* To take the flesh in 

T — 

the teeth," and '* to put the life in the hand," evidently mean "to risk 
the life," as what is carried in the teeth or the hand is liable to be 
dropped. See 1 Sam. xxviii. 21 ; Ps. cxix. 109. The meaning is, Why 
do I risk my life by asserting my integrity before God, unless because I 
am fully conscious of it ? 

15. — I have no hope! This is the literal rendering of the received 
text. The common version adopts the various reading 1^, in him, instead 
of that of the text ^, not. I prefer the latter, as the more difficult 
reading, and yet quite as well suited to the context, and to the general 
plan of the book. 

16. This also shall be my deliverance. An opportunity of appearing 
before God, and pleading my cause, will lead to my deliverance, i. e. to 
my vindication from the charges of wickedness and guilt which have been 
brought against me. — For 7io unrighteous man will come be fore him : 
i. e. For I shall not go before him an unrighteous man. Others suppose the 
meaning to be, My readiness to appear before God, and to plead my cause 
before him, ought to be considered a proof of my innocence ; for no un- 
righteous man would dare to do it. 

18. — that I am innocent : i. e. that my cause is just ; or, that I am in- 
nocent of the charge of gross wickedness, which is alleged against me as 
the cause of my calamities. 

19. — contend with me: i. e. maintain the cause successfully against 
me. 

22. llien call upon me, Sfc, These expressions import that he aimed to 
dispute his cause, not merely before God as a judge, but with God as a 
party. Scott. 

26 For thou wriiest : A judicial term, referring to the custom of writing 
the sentence of a person condemned, i. e. decreeing his punishment. See 
Ps. cxlix. 9 ; Jer. xxii. 30 ; John xix. 22. So the Greeks used the ex- 



216 NOTES. 

pression yqvK^iad^ai dlxtjv ; and amongst the Arabs a wriUng is a term 
commonly used for di, judicial sentence. 

27. Thou watchest all my paths : i. e. all the paths by which I might 
escape. The allusion is to a prisoner who is not only fettered, or in the 
stocks, but closely watched by sentinels. — Thou hemmest in the soles of 
my feet : i. e. by a trench, beyond which thou wilt not suffer me to pass ; 
i. e. thou hast stopped my way. See xix. 8; Lam. iri. 8, 9. 

28. And I: lit. And he. Upon this change of persons in the Hebrew, 
see Ges. Heb. Gram. § 217. ; Storr's Observ. § 23. The Greek idiom, by 
which T6j^€ oadqi is used for hiol, has some resemblance to it. 

Ch. XIV. 1. — born of woman : This is said in conformity with the 
Oriental sentiments in regard to the inferiority of the female sex, in 
ancient and modern times. See ch. xv. 14, xxv. 4. 

3. And dost thou fix thine eyes upon such an one 7 This expression 
denotes, in Zech. xii. 4, to look angrily at another. Scott. It refers here 
probably, to vigilant inspection for the sake of discoYering faults. — And 
dost thou bring me into judgment with thee ? i. e. Dost thou treat me as a 
criminal, and decree against me severe punishments ? 

4. Who can produce a clean thing from an unclean? He now pleads 
for lenity on account of the natural weakness of man's moral powers. 
Who can expect so frail and weak a being as man to be without faults ? 
"Who can expect frail man to be as pure as an angel ? Vitiis sine nemo 
nascitur. 

6. That he may enjoy, as a hireling, his day ! i. e. That he may enjoy 
his term of life, at least to that degree in which the hireling enjoys his 
term of service. The Sept. favors this mode of translating the verse : 
^uinvara art avrov, iva i^avxuot], xal svdoxilotj avjov rov (ilor, ojoneQ 6 
^ifo^ojTog. Otherwise, Until he shall, as a hireling, have completed his day. 
To complete or accomplish is a less common meaning of n^TI, but not 

without support. See Lev. xxvi. 34, 41, 43 ; 2 Chron, xxxvi. 21 ; Is. xl. 
2. Others render. Until, as a hireling, he shall rejoice in his day : i. e. 
the day of his death. Let him be exempt from afflictions during the com- 
mon short term of human life, until, weary and worn with service, he 
shall rejoice in the day of his death, as a hireling rejoices in the day of his 
release from service. 

7- 12. Compare the well-known passage of Moschus. Epitaph. Bion. 105 

The meanest herb we trample in the field, 
Or in the garden nurture, when its leaf. 
At Winter's touch, is blasted, and its place 
Forgotten, soon its vernal buds renews. 



JOB. 217 

And, from short slumber, wakes to life again. 
Man wakes no more ! — man, valiant, glorious, wise. 
When death once chills him, sinks in sleep profound, 
A long, unconscious, never-ending sleep. Gisborne 
See also in Dr. Beattie's Hermit : 

'T is night, and the landscape is lovely no more ; 
I mourn, but, ye woodlands, I mourn not for you ; 
For morn is approaching, your charms to restore. 
Perfumed with fresh fragrance, and glittering with dew. 
Nor yet for the ravage of winter I mourn ; 
Kind nature the embryo blossom will save ; 
But when shall spring visit the mouldering urn ? 
when shall it dawn on the night of the grave ? 

10. — and he is gone ! \inXV\ This word means to be so entirely proS" 

TVl-.— 

trated, overthrown, or weakened, as not to be able to recover. Man, when 
dead, has no strength or vital principle remaining in him, by which he can, 
like a tree that is felled, return to life. A more literal rendering, such as 
pass away, waste away, is, by English usage, synonymous with death. 
Gesenius renders it, dahin ist, it is all over with him, 

12. Till the heavens be no more : i. e. Never. For things unchange- 
able and eternal are in Scripture compared in duration to the heavens. See 
Ps. Ixxii. 6, 17, Ixxxix. 29, 36, 37, cxlviii. 6 ; Jer. xxxi. 35, 36. Dr. 
Good supposes that the phrase refers to a definite period, that of the gene- 
ral resurrection. But this supposition is inconsistent with Scripture usage 
and with the context, and is not countenanced by the most respectable of 
those critics who suppose the general resurrection to be referred to in ch. 
xix. 25. 

13. O that thou wouldst hide me in the under -world ! i. e. in sheol or 
hades, Schultens takes great pains to show that Job, by this expression, 
does not wish for death, but only to be shut up alive in hades. But if we 
understand him to wish for a temporary death, the connection of this verse 
with the 14:th will be closer. Under the influence of passionate emotion 
he expresses the thought, that, if he were by death removed out of the 
sight of the Deity for a time, his wrath might subside, like man's resent- 
ment, which time and the absence of the object of it weaken or extinguish. 

14. If a man die, can he live again 7 Here he checks his wish for 
death by a question which is equivalent to a negation. A man once dead 
cannot live again. Else, or if it were so, I might have strength and 
patience to endure all my present afflictions, until my change should come, 
u e. until I should be relieved from my hard service by new recruits, or 
from my wearisome station by a fresh guard ; i. e. until a favorable 

10 



218 NOTES. 

change in my condition should take place. Or, war-service may relate to 
his wished-for residence in the lower world, ver. 13, and his change to his 
restoration to the upper world, when his character should be vindi- 
cated, and his happiness restored. The poet probably means here to make 
another allusion to the actual history of Job in the close of the poem. 

15. Call upon me, and I will answer thee ! So Le Clerc, Schultens, Ros., 
De Wette. Unable to bear the thought of going out of the world under such 
a load of infamy, and having no hope of coming back into it again to clear 
his innocence, he earnestly begs of God to relent towards his creature, and 
to bring him to immediate trial. The terms call and answer ought surely 
to be taken in the same judicial sense as in ch. ix. 16, xiii. 22, xxxi. 14 ; 
the former denoting the action of bringing the complaint ; the latter, the 
part of the defendant in replying to it. Scott. 

16, 17. As a contrast to the regard which he pleaded for in the foregoing 
verse, and as a reason for his urging an immediate trial, he here sets forth 
the severity with which God treats him now. 

16. — thou numberest my steps: i. e. thou makest strict inquiry into my 
actions, that thou mayst find out all my errors, and punish them. 
— Thou watchest over my sins : i. e. Thou watchest for my haltings or 
miscarriages, as if thou wert glad of an occasion to punish me. Poole, 

17. My transgression is sealed up in a bag: i. e. as writings, money, 
or other choice things, that they may be safely kept, and brought forth 
upon occasion, and that not one of them may be forgotten or lost. See 
Hos. xiii. 12. *' The money, that is collected together in the treasuries of 
eastern princes, is told up in certain equal sums, put into bags, and 
sealed.'* Chardin. — thou addest unto my iniquity. Either, thou 
addest one sin to another, the sins of my youth to those of my riper age, so 
as to swell the number laid up against me, and thus to increase my pun- 
ishment ; or, thou makest my iniquity greater than it is. Geseniu? 
renders it, perhaps correctly, (see in the Hebrew, xiii. 4 ; Ps. cxix. 69,) 
thou inventest (falsehood) unto mine iniquity : i. e. thou chargest me with 
iniquity falsely . The rendering which I have adopted may be considered 
as a milder way of expressing the same idea. It is that of the old Geneva 
version, i. e. the English version made in the time of queen Elizabeth ; 
which, in several passages of this poem, is more correct than the common 
version. The Chald. has it, accumulas super iniquitates meas, 

19. So thou destroyest the hope of man : i. e. the hope of living again 
after death. 

22. Bat his flesh shall have pain, S^c. By a bold, but not unnatural 
personification, the dead man in his grave is represented as conscious of 
his own miserable condition, and of that alone. He knows not of the 
miseries of his living relatives, but his body consumed by worms feels ita 
own pain, and the soul in the underworld mourns its own sad condition. 



JOB. 219 



IX. 

Eliphaz begins his reply to Job with bitter sarcasms and reproaches. 
He censures particularly the assertions of Job respecting the indiscrimi- 
nate distribution of happiness and misery, as tending to undermine 
religion, and to encourage men in the neglect of prayer. He says that the 
assertion of such opinions is sufficient evidence of his guilt. Ch. xv. 1-6. 
He then lashes him severely for pretending to understand the ways of God 
better than those who were his elders ; and for his passionate complaints 
concerning God's dealings toward him. He repeats, for his admonition, 
the substance of the oracle which he had brought forward in his former 
discourse. 7-16. He proceeds to give, as a quotation from an ancient 
poem, a highly wrought description of the misery which in various ways 
pursues the wicked man. The drift of the whole is to vindicate Providence, 
to condemn Job as an object of divine wrath on account of his wickedness, 
and to terrify him, if possible, into a confession of his guilt. 17-35. 

Ch. XV. 4. And discouragest prayer before him. Literally, lessenest 
prayer. The meaning is, that Job, by maintaining that God treated the 
righteous and the wicked alike, sapped the very foundations of religion ; 
since, in that case, the wicked would have nothing to fear, and the righte- 
ous nothing to expect,from him. 

6. Though thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. He gives this invidi- 
ous turn to Job's protestations of innocence, prayers, and appeals to God ; 
which he represents as an artful address to the passions of his hearers, in 
order to blind their judgment, and deceive them into a favorable opinion 
of his piety. 

7. Art thou the first man, ^c. : i. e. Hast thou lived ever since the 
creation of the world, and treasured up the experience of all ages in th^ 
own breast, that thou speakest so arrogantly, and with such contempt o 
other men ? Poole. 

8. Hast thou listened in the council of God: i. e. in such a council as 
is described in the first and second chapters of this poem, where the 
angels are represented as assembled around Jehovah for the purpose o 
giving an account of their ministry, and of receiving orders respecting 
the government of the world. Eliphaz sarcastically inquires, whether, in 
consequence of being admitted into God's council, he, of all men in the 
world, is acquainted with his purposes. For wisdom seems here, as in ch. 
xxviii., to have special, though not exclusive, reference to the wisdom or 
purposes of God, by which he governs the world. For the rendering 
irawn all wisdom^ see Ges. Thes. ad jnj. 



220 NOTES. 

11. — consolations of God. Eliphaz may here refer to the oracle, eh. iv 
17-21. — words so full of kindness : So Cocc, Schult., Ges. By tJieir 
consolations, and words of kindness, ho means their distant intimations of his 
guilt, their warnings insinuated in the way of examples, and their exhorta- 
tions to confession and amendment. Scott. 

12. — winking of thine eyes. To wink with the e^es, according to Hebrew 
usage, denoted arrogance, haughtiness, and contempt. See Ps. xxxv. 19,- 
Prov. vi. 13. 

19. To whom alone, ^c: i. e. the ancient inhabitants of Arabia, who 
had not been corrupted by intercourse with foreigners. It was no modern 
or imported doctrine, but that which prevailed amongst the earliest and 
best inhabitants of the country. Le Clerc. Eliphaz here speaks like a gen- 
uine Arab, whose pride is in his tongue, his sword, and his pure blood. 
Umhreit. 

20. Yea, all the years that are laid up for the oppressor : i. e. he is in con- 
t5ant fear of death. He is not secure of his life for a moment, his guiity 
f ascience continually conjuring up fears of assassination or violence of 
.' 'f^t kind. He is in the situation of Dionysius of Sicily : 

Districtus ensis cui super impia 
Cervice pendet, non Siculse dapes 

Dulcem elaborabunt saporem ; 

Non avium citharaeque cantus 
Somnum reducent. 

Eor, Carm. III. i. 17. 

With this description of the condition of the wicked compare that of Juve- 
nal, Sat. xiii. 192. 

21. In peace the destroyer cometh upon him. Schultens and others under- 
stand this, When there are no signs of invasions, insurrections, or plots 
against him, his disturbed imagination is continually presenting destruction 
to him. Post equitem sedet atra cura. 

22. — darkness: a common metaphorical expression for calamity. His 
despair of escaping some unhappy end, assassination for instance, is de- 
scribed here. Schult. — set apart, ^c: i. e. destined to a violent death. 
So, in substance, the Sept., ivreraKTai yap ^brj els x^^P^^^ (nbj]pov, 

26. And ran against him with outstretched neck: i. e. with his neck stooping 
and stretched out, the attitude of a combatant running upon his adversary. 
— With the thick bosses of his bucklers. Schultens has shown that to turn the 
boss of one^s buckler against a person is a proverbial expression among the 
Arabs, meaning to become his deadly enemy. These metaphors drawn from 
the single combat, which was much in practice in the ancient wars, are 
intended to express the most daring impiety, atrocious violation of God's 
laws, and contempt of his vindictive justice. 



JOB. 221 

27. Because he covered his face with fatness. This is a graphical des- 
cription of a luxurious and licentious person. 

30. — darkness: i. e. ruin, destruction. — his branches: i. e. his 
wealth, power, glory, all with which he was adorned, as a tree 'with its 
branches. — by the breath of His mouth: i. e. of God's mouth. The des- 
truction of the wicked man seems to be represented under the image of a 
tree destroyed by a burning wind, (see note upon ch. iii. 5,) or by light- 
ning ; or torn up by a tempest sent by the Deity. See ch. iv. 9 ; Ps. xviii. 
15 ; Is. xi. 4. 

31. — vanity. The term vanity has two meanings, and therefore well 
represents the original. In the first line of the verse it denotes wickedness ; 
in the second, the consequences of wickedness, or misery. 



X. 



The speech of Eliphaz was admirably fitted to carry on the design of the 
poem, by irritating the passions of Job, and inflaming his discontent with 
the ways of Providence. In his reply he gives a pathetic representation of 
the inhumanity of his friends, and of his other severe afflictions. He then 
makes the most solemn protestations of innocence, and expresses an 
earnest desire that his cause may be tried, and his innocence vindicated, 
before he goes the way whence he shall not return. Ch. xvi. He dwells 
upon nearly the same topics in ch. xvii., and ends his reply with the 
strongest expressions of grief and despair. 

Ch. XVI. 4. — string together : lit. tie together ; neciere verba. Some 
prefer the rendering, make a league with words : i. e. raise a host of 
words. 

7. For now He, ^c. : i. e. God, whom he addresses in the next line. 

8. Thou hast seized hold of me : "'jLOrDpr). See ch. xxii. 16, and Ges. 

Lex. The meaning of both clauses of the verse is, that the afflictions of 
Job made his friends believe that he was a bad man. 

9. His anger : i. e. God's. The image is drawn from a wild beast 
tearing the flesh of a person whom he is pursuing. — My adversary : i. e. 
God. See ch. xiii. 24, xix. 11. — sharpeneth his eyes : i. e. darts pierc- 
ing looks at me, or looks upon me with fierce and sparkling eyes. 

10. They gape: i. e. My friends, the instruments of God's anger. 
-ihei/ assemble : i. e. like conspirators, to efi'ect my ruin. 

15. ,^nd thrust my horn. See Ges. Rosenmiiller supposes the meta- 
phor to be borrowed from some strong and noble animal lying dead, with 



222 NOTES. 

its horn thrust into the ground ; and that the meaning is, My wealth, 
power, and glory are prostrate in the dust. See Deut. xxxiii. 17; Ps. 
Ixxv. 5. 

16. — deathlike darkness. See note on ch. iii. 5. 

18. O earth, cover not thou my blood, .He compares his accumulated 
miseries to blood unjustly shed, and prays that his injuries may not be 
concealed from man or Heaven, nor remain unavenged. — And let there 
be no hiding-place for my cry ? i. e. May nothing hinder my cry for 
redress from ascending to heaven ! See ch. xix. 7. In the height of his 
emotion he forgets that it is God who hath laid him low. 

19. And he that knoweth me : nnt^'? lit. my witness : I paraphrase it to 

• TT 

avoid repetition. The Sept. has it, 6 avrlarojQ uov, probably for the same 
reason. Cranmer's Bible, And he that knoweth me is above in the height. 

21. O that one might contend: i. e. in a judicial controversy. His 
meaning is, that if the Deity would bring his charges against him, he 
should be able to clear himself, and vindicate his integrity. See ch. 
xvii. 3. 



Ch. XVII. 3. Give a pledge, ^c. The terms in this verse are obscure, 
on account of our ignorance of the ancient forms of trial. Job seems 
again to challenge the Deity to enter into a judicial contest with him in 
regard to the uprightness of his character ; and desires the Deity to give 
a pledge that he would not avail himself of his almighty power in the 
contest, but deal with him upon fair and equal terms, so that the cause 
might be decided according to strict justice, and without regard to the rank 
of the parties concerned. — Who is he that will strike hands with me ? 
I. e. Who, by the usual form of striking hands, will agree with me to be 
surety for thee ? See Pro v. vi. 1, xvii. 18, xxii. 26. This challenge, says 
Mr. Poole, savors of too much boldness and irreverence to God ; yet see- 
ing Job expresses the same desire, almost in the same manner, in ch. ix. 
32, 33, and is sharply reproved by God for contending with him, in xl. 2, 
I see no inconvenience in ascribing the same thing to him here. 

4. Therefore thou wilt not suffer them to prevail : i. e. to gain the 
victory in this contest. Thou wilt rather pronounce me innocent, and 
censure them. 

5. He that delivers up his friend as a prey. pSnS, for a prey. So 

used in Gen. xiv. 24 ; 1 Sam. xxx. 24. 

6. — their abhorrence; ri}iri, from the Chald. tj^in, to spit out. xal 

aiif^tjv avTotg yfXiog. Sept. 

8. — at this : i.e. at seeing so good a man oppressed with such a heavy 
bad of afflictions. —And the innocent, ^c. : i. e. the innocent will 



JOB. 228 

resolutely oppose the wicked, when he judges the worse of piety because ol 
my afflictions. Patrick* 

10. — return : i. e. to the debate. 

11. Even the treasures of my heart: i e. what most occupied my 
heart. 

12. J^ight hath become day to me : i. e. I have sleepless nights. I am 
as much awake by night as by day. — The light bordereth on darkness : 
i. e. The day seems very short. The daylight seems to go as soon as it is 
come. 

13. Fea: DX, a particle of asseveration. Hos. xii. 11 ; Pro v. xxiii. 18. 

See Ges. ad verb. — I have made my bed in darkness : i. e. the darkness 
of the grave. I shall soon lie down in the grave, the only place in which 
I can expect repose. 

14. / say to the pit, SfC, By these strong expressions he intimates how 
near he believed himself to be to death. I have already made so near an 
alliance with death, that my father and mother and nearest kindred are 
nothing so near to me as the grave and worms. Others suppose him to 
express a strong desire of death in this verse. 

16. — bars of the under-world : Sheol, the gates of which are fastened 
by massive bars, so that those who have entered it cannot return. See ch. 
xxxviii. 17; Is. xxxviii. 10; Ps. ix. 13, cvii. 18. Some render ""^S solitudes 

or wastes, with less probability. See Hos. xi. 6. When together there is 
rest, ^c. Otherwise, Yea, we shall descend together into the dust! i.e. I 
and my hopes shall be buried in the same grave. So the Sept. ,»} ouo^v- 
fia^ov inl /wLiuToc xaTafiriooiiid^a, This is a figurative way of saying that 
all his expectations would end in misery, death, and corruption ; or that 
these were all he had to expect. 



XI. 



In the eighteenth chapter Bildad again comes forward, full of resent- 
ment against Job, on account of the low estimation in which he held their 
discourses. He accuses him of pride and arrogance. He reasserts the 
general doctrine^ maintained by the friends of Job, that misery implies 
guilt, by giving a highly wrought description of the calamities which, as 
he contends, are the portion of the wicked. This description contains 
some particulars closely adapted to the circumstances of Job, and was, 
without doubt, designed to intimate that Job must resemble in character 
those whom he so much resembled in condition. 



224 NOTES. 



Ch. XVIII. 2. How long ere ye make, ^c. Though the pronoun is in the 
plural, there can be little doubt that Job is the person addressed. — Under^ 
stand : i. e. Consider and weigh our arguments. 

3. He refers to what Job had said in ch. xvii. 4, 10. 

4. Thou that tear est thyself : lit. He ieareth^ ^c. This is a common 
Hebrew idiom. See ch. xii. 4, xvi. 7, xvii. 10, xxxii. 15, xli. 9. — Must the 
earth be deserted for thee 7 ^c. When the Orientals would reprove the pride 
or arrogance of any person, it is common for them to desire him to call to 
mind how little and contemptible he and every mortal is, in these or similar 
apophthegms : 

What though Mohammed were dead ? 

His Imams (or ministers) conducted the affairs of the nation. 

The universe shall not fall for his sake ; 

The world does not subsist for one man alone. 

Lowth , Lect. 34, 

Most critics, however, suppose the verse to have a more definite meaning. 
'* These are proverbial forms of speech for altering what is fixed and un- 
changeable. The meaning is, if I mistake not, that God must give up his 
moral kingdom among men, or violate the immutable laws of justice by 
which it is administered, if such a man as Job escaped punishment. This 
interpretation makes an easy transition to the other part of the discourse, 
which is designed to prove that, by an unchangeable rule of Providence, 
the signally wicked shall signally perish." Scoit. 

5. Behold, the light : — the flame, ^c. These metaphors denote, in 
general, splendor, prosperity, glory, or festivity. There is an allusion, in 
the latter clause of the verse, to what the Arabian poet calls the fires of 
hospitality ; these were beacons lighted upon the tops of hills by persons 
of distinction among the Arabs, to direct and invite travellers to their 
houses and tables. Hospitality was their national glory ; and the loftier 
and larger these fires were, the greater was the magnificence thought to be. 
See Pooocke in Carm. Tograi, p. iii. A wicked rich man, therefore, would 
affect this piece of state from vanity and ostentation. Another Arabian 
poet expresses the permanent prosperity of his family almost in the very 
words of our author : ** Neither is our fire, lighted for the benefit of the 
night-stranger, extinguished." Hamasa, p. 473. Scoit, See also the 
note on ch. xxxi. 17. 

6. — lamp : He refers to the lamp which hung from the ceiling of the 
apartment. The Arabs are fond of this image. Thus they say : ** Bad 
fortune hath extinguished my lamp ; " and concerning a man whose hopes 
are remarkably blasted ; *' He is like a lamp, which is immediately extin 
guished if you let it sink into the oil." See Schult. 



JOB. 225 

7. His strong steps shall be straitened : i. e. Instead of advancing freely 
and firmly, in a wide path, lie shall be reduced to the necessity of going 
timidly, in a narrow way, full of obstacles, where there is great danger of 
stumbling. This is a very common metaphor in Oriental poetry to denote 
the loss of power, prosperity, &c., as Schultens has shown by numerous 
quotations. Strong steps are free, firm, unimpeded steps. 

11. Terrors are here represented as allegorical persons, like the Furies 
in the Greek poets. 

13. His limbs : )!,)); n^ : lit. The limbs of his skin : i. e. of his 

body. — the first-born of dfath : i. e. the most terrible death. 

14. — the king of terrors. This is probably to be regarded as a poet- 
ical personification of death, considered as a resident of the underworld, 
comp. XXX. 23. It is not to be considered as a mythical person. For there 
are in the Hebrew writings no clear traces of a king of Hades, correspond- 
ing to the king of the infernal regions in Grecian and Roman mythology. 
— Otherwise, Terror pursueth him like a king. But the rendering 
" pursueth" does not appear to have sufficient support from usage. 

15. Brimstone is scattered upon his habitation : i. e. it is destroyed, like 
Sodom and Gomorrha, by fire and brimstone from heaven. Grotius, Le 
Clere, Schult., and Ros. think that lightning is referred to both in this 
passage and in Gen. xix. 24 ; Deut. xxix. 23 ; Ps. xi. 6. Pliny says, 
(Hist. Nat. XXXV. 15,) Fulmina et fulgura quoque sulphuris odorem habent 
ac lux ipsa eorum sulphurea est. And Persius, Sat. ii. 24, 25. : 

At sese non clamet Jupiter ipse ? 

Ignovisse putas, quia, cum tonat, ocyus ilex 
Sulphure discutitur sacro, quam tuque domusque ? 

graves halantes sulphuris auras. 

Lucret VI. 222. 

Bildad may refer to the circumstance that a part of Job's property was 
consumed by lightning. Ch. i. 16. 

18. Jlnd driven out of the world : i. e. He is not conducted out of life, 
as Plato expresses it, with funeral pomp, by a numerous train of relatives 
and citizens, but is cast out of human society like a malefactor, and thrown 
inder ground with infamy and execration. Scott, 



10* 



226 ■ NOTES. 



XII. 



Job begins his reply to the harsh and passionate invective of Bildad with 
pathetic complaints of the inhumanity of his friends, in regarding his 
afflicted condition as unquestionable evidence of guilt. He maintains that 
his sufferings are not to be charged upon himself, but upon God, who had 
overwhelmed him with calamities, though he had done nothing to deserve 
them, and though he had often desired to be brought to trial. Perceiving 
that the representation of his misery had no effect upon his hard-hearted 
friends, he suddenly turns from them, and expresses the earnest desire 
that all which he had said in his defence might be recorded upon some last- 
ing monument, so that posterity, at least, might do him justice ; or that it 
might remam uneffaced till the event should justify it. But his conscious- 
ness of innocence does not allow him to stop here. He is not satisfied 
with the tardy justice which posterity may render to his memory ; and he 
gives utterance to the firm and triumphant conviction, that, low as he is 
reduced by sorrow and disease, he shall yet live to see the Deity stand up 
in his favor, and vindicate him from the unfounded charges which have 
been brought against him. He also warns his friends that the time will 
come, when they shall be put to shame for their injustice and cruelty to- 
ward him. 

Ch. XIX. 2. — break me in pieces : a metaphor drawn from the pound- 
ing of kernels in a mortar, or from breaking rocks in pieces by repeated 
blows of the hammer. 

4. My error abideth with myself: i. e. I alone shall bear the con- 
sequences of my error. 

Mihi dolebit, non tibi, siquid stulte fecero. 

Plant. Mensech. ii. 3. 

5 — my reproach : i. e. my calamities, which bring reproach and dis- 
grace upon me. 

7. Behold, I complain of wrong. He certainly means wrong or violence 
done to him by God. This language is extremely harsh, and utterly in- 
fxcusable. It is, however, nothing more than what he had already said in 
effect, in ch. ix. 17, x. 3, xvi. 18. Indeed if such rash speeches as these 
had not ccme from his lips, what ground would there have been for 



JOB. 227 

those cutting reproaches in xl. 8 : *• Wilt thou even disannul my judg- 
ment? Wilt thou condemn me i that thou mayst appear righteous 1 ^^ 
Scott. 

9. And taken the crown from my head : i. e. deprived me of all my 
dignity and honors. See Prov. iv. 9. 

10. — I am gone : i. e. I am near death. See x. 21, xiv. 20; Gen, xv. 
2 ; Ps. xxxix. 13. — like a tree : which, being plucked up by the roots, 
does not grow again. 

12. His troopsy ^c. He represents his calamities by metaphors drawn 
from the siege of a city. 

15. — foreigners, Sfc, : or sojourners : i. e. servants not born in his 
house ; or, perhaps, clients, persons who looked to him for protection ; 
persons connected with his family, but not residing under his roof. 
Schultens says that the same word is used by the Arabian poets to denote 
the dependents of a great man, who are adopted into his family and taken 
under his protection. But the first meaning seems to agree better with 
the connection. 

17. My breath is become strange, SfC. i. e. My wife denies me her 
company on account of my offensive breath and sores. Otherwise, J\fy 
spirit is become a stranger : i.e. lam become a stranger. — children 
of my own mother : lit. children of my womb : i. e. of the same womb 
from which I came. 

20. And I have scarcely escaped with the skin of my teeth. A proverbial 
expression, denoting the utmost emaciation from disease. 

22. Why do ye persecute me like God ? i. e. without giving any reason 
or account of your conduct, accusing me of crimes without proof, and 
condemning me without trial. — And not rest satisfied with my flesh : 
i. e. with the consumption and torment of my whole body, but add to it 
the vexation of my spirit, by your grievous reproaches and calumnies. 
Or, according to Schultens, Why are ye not satisfied with the reproaches 
and slanders with which ye have already tormented me? Schultena 
remarks that to eat the flesh of another is an Arabian phrase for ca/w/7l7^^ai- 
ing him. One of their poets has the line, *' I am not addicted to slander, 
nor am I one who devours the flesh of his friend. " Another, speaking of 
his calumniator, says, *' Who worries my flesh, and yet has not satisfied 
his avidity." The phraseology is taken from a wild beast rending his 
prey. 

23. O that my words : i. e. all my discourses, all that I have said in my 
defence, my protestations of innocence, my appeals to God, &c., so that 
all ages may be able to judge between me and my accusers, and to know 
the justice of my cause. 

24. — and with lead : i. e. infused into the letters engraven in the 
vock, in order to make them plain and legible. See Jer. xvii. 1. 



228 NOTES. 

25 - 27. The design of this passage appears to be the same with that of 
xvi. 19, where Job exclaims, ** My witness is in heaven, and he that 
knoweth me is on high ; " and of the numerons passages in which he de- 
sires and prays that his cause may be brought to trial, and that the Deity 
may pronounce judgment respecting the integrity of his character. This 
design is, to express, in a striking manner, the depth and sincerity of Job's 
conviction of his own innocence. So strong and clear is the testimony of 
his conscience in his favor, that what has heretofore been the object of his 
ardent wishes and prayers is now become the object of his confident ex- 
pectation ; and he expresses the firm persuasion that God will be the 
vindicator of his Integrity from the charges of his friends ; that he toill 
stand up on the earth, as a judge, and decide the cause in his favor ; that 
though his body be wasted away to a mere skeleton, yet without his flesh, i. e. 
in his emaciated state, he shall see God, interposing in his favor and taking 
his side in the controversy. I have, in this edition, preferred to give the 
sense without to p, as the particle is used in xi. 15, xxi. 9. The render- 
ing of the Common Version " in my flesh" may be defended, as to its 
sense, by taken p in its usual meaning of from, and understanding Job 

to say that he, looking out from his flesh, bhould see God. Whichever 
rendering be preferred, the expectation of Job refers to a time before his 
death. 

It appears more consistent with Job's character, and with the design 
of the poem, to suppose that the main object of his confident expect- 
ation was, not restoration to general prosperity, but the vindication of his 
character from false imputations. He has the conviction that a just and 
good God will yet make it appear that his misery is no proof of his guilt. 
Throughout the poem he seems to regard all other evils light, in compar- 
ison with the loss of character ; and to desire not so much deliverance from 
misery, as from the imputation of guilt ; and thus he refutes the insinua- 
tion of Satan, that his piety was founded in selfish motives. 

Whether Job connected the recovery of his health, and his restoration to 
general prosperity, with the vindication of his character by the Deity, it is 
not very important to decide. One objection to this supposition appears to 
be very futile. Job could not have hoped for recovery from his disease, or 
for restoration to prosperity, say some critics; for he had said, more than 
once, that he had no hope, and that he was near his grave. As if a 
person, who is represented as agitated by the most violent and opposite 
emotions, could be expected to be consistent in his sentiments and lan- 
guage. What can be more natural than that Job, in a state of extreme 
depression, arising from the thought of his wrongs, the severity of his 
afilictions, and the natural tendency of his disease, should express himself 
in the language of despair, and yet that he should be animated, soon after. 



JOB. 229 

by conscious innocence, and the thought of God's justice, goodness, and 
power, to break forth into the language of hope and confidence ? 

But, for the reasons before mentioned, it is probable that the main, if 
not the sole, object of Job's confident expectation was tke vindication of 
his character by the Deity. The writer, however, without doubt, iatended 
that the whole passage should haye relation to the concluding part of the 
poem, where the Deity is represented as appearing and yindicating the 
character of Job by calling him four times his servant ; by rebuking hia 
calumniators, and pardoning them through his intercession ; by declaring 
that he, and not his friends, had spoken that which was right, i. e. in 
regard to the question whether misery was a proof of guilt ; and by 
giving him temporal blessings in two-fold greater abundance than before 
his affliction. This interposition of the Deity appears to have been kept 
in view by the writer throughout the poem, and thus the mind of the 
reader is prepared for it. 

Of the objections to the supposition that Job here expresses his confident 
expectation of a resurrection to a life of happiness, a few will be briefly 
mentioned. They are entirely independent of the question , what was the 
general belief of the Hebrews in regard to the state of the soul after 
death. The author of the poem may have been more sceptical than 
others. 

1. The supposition is inconsistent with the general design of the poem, 
and with the course of argument. The belief in a future state of retribu- 
tion would have, in some measure, solved the difficulty respecting the 
afflictions of the good, and the prosperity of the wicked. But no one of 
the speakers alludes to it in the course of the poem. If it be a declara- 
tion of that doctrine, it is a single independent declaration of it, in a 
work, in which, from the nature of the subject, it might have been expected 
to occur upon every page. 

2. It is inconsistent with the connection of the discourse. Zophar, 
who replies to Job, makes no allusion to it, but goes on to assert the 
temporal miseries which are the portion of the wicked and of their child- 
ren. So, too, verses 23 and 24 lose their force, if we suppose the state 
after death to be referred to in the passage. 

S It is inconsistent with several express declarations of Job in other 
parts of the poem. See ch. vii. 7, 8, x. 20 - 22, xiv. throughout, and xvii. 
11-16. When he wishes for death, he speaks of it as the termination of 
his miseries, and not as the introduction to a life of happiness. Ch. iii. 
It is, moreover, too much to suppose that the influence of feeling would 
have led him to deny so important a doctrine, had he believed in it. Under 
the influence of opposite emotions, one may be expected to express 
difi*erent opinions respecting his condition, prospects, &c , but not to deny 
80 important an article of his faith. So good a man as Job wouli naturally 



230 NOTES. 

have been led, in his affliction, to cling the more closely to the doctrine of 
a future life of happiness, had he believed in it ; or rather, had he been 
represented by the poet as believing in it. 

4. It is not urged as a topic of consolation by either of the three friends 
of Job, nor even by Elihu, who acts the part of an umpire in the contro- 
versy, and who gives a more philosophical account than either of the 
speakers of the design of afflictions. Nor is it alluded to by God himself 
in the decision of the controversy. 

6. The Jewish commentators, who sought for every shadow of proof of 
the doctrine of a future life in the Old Testament, do not consider this as 
one of the passages by which it is supported. The same remark applies to 
most of the Greek fathers. Chrysostom speaks expressly of Job as ** a 
righteous man, who knew nothing of the resurrection." Ep. ii. ad Olymp., 
&c. The supposition that this doctrine is contained in the passage 
derives its chief support from the mistranslation or misapplication ol 
certain expressions in it. See also the prefatory remarks to ch. xii., xiii., 
xiv. 

6. Ewald, in his notes on the passage, being convinced that it cannot 
refer to the resurrection of the dead , brings forward a new hypothesis, 
namely, that Job's hope is in the happy existence of the disembodied 
spirit after death ; the immortality of his soul in Sheol, the underworld. 
To us this view seems still more contrary to the expressed opinions of the 
whole book, than that which supposes a reference to a resurrection of the 
body. It is liable to the preceding objections to a bodily resurrection, and 
is more specially contradicted by the author's representation of the state 
of the disembodied soul in Sheol. We have already stated, p. 123, that 
the author of Job entertained the common belief of the Hebrews in a cer- 
tain future existence of the soul in Sheol. But it was as a mere shade of 
its former existence in the upper world. It was without hope. xiv. 19, 
xvii. 11 -16, xxi. 26, and had a mere consciousness of existence, without 
activity or enjoyment, x. 21, 22, xiv. 11-14. So in Ps. vi. 5. *' In Sheol, 
who can give thee thanks ?" Is. xiv. 10. **Art thou also become weak as 
we?" 

No doubt it would be agreeable to every Christian interpreter to find the 
doctrine of a blessed immortality beyond the grave in every ancient book. 
But why believers in Christ should wish to force it into books where it 
does not exist, it is not easy to perceive. 

25. — my F'indicator : "h'iil* This term, in its primitive sense, was 

applied to the person whose duty it was to maintain the rights, interests, 
and reputation of a near relative, either by repurchasing his mortgaged 
inheritance, by marrying his widow, and saving his family from extinction, 
by redeeming him from servitude, or by avenging his blood. In this 
passage it is figuratively applied to the Deity, as taking the part and 



JOB. 231 

vindicating the character of Job against the cruel treatment and false 
accusations of his friends. It is elsewhere applied to the Deity in the more 
general sense of a deliverer from calamities of any kind. The term 
redeemer might be retained, as a figurative expression for a deliverer 
from reproach and calu7nny ;hxit it would be less intelligible than the 
term vindicator, and more likely to be misapplied. That there is no 
allusion to Christ in the term, nor to the resurrection to a life of happiness 
in the passage, has been the opinion of the most judicious and learned 
critics for these last three hundred years ; such as Calvin, Mercier, 
Groiius, Le Clerc, Patrick, Warburton, Durell, Heath, Kennicott, Doeder- 
lein, Dathe, Eichhorn, Jahn, De Wette, Heiligstedt, Hirzel, and many 
others. — And will stand up : i. e. appear or interpose to decide the con- 
troversy. Ps. xii. 5, *' For the sighing of the needy now will I arise, 
(or stand up,) said the Lord." xliv. 26, " Arise, (or stand up,) for our 
help, and redeem us." xciv. 16 ; Jer. ii. 27. — hereafter, or, at last; 
or, at length ; tandem, Dathe ; postremo, Cast. ; posthceCj Doed. ]nnj< is 

used adverbially, 2 or ^7 being omitted. See Is. viii. 23, xxx. 8 ; Numb. ii. 
81; 1 Sam. xxix. 2; Prov. xxix. 11, xxxi. 25. The rendering of the 
common version is entirely unsupported by usage. — on the earth, 
*T£3^-'7J?. See ch. xxxix. 14, xli. 25. Lit. upon dust. Possibly the ex- 
pression dust is emphatic, as contrasted with heaven, the usual residence 
of the Creator. 

26. And though with my skin this body be wasted away. So Ros., 
Eich., and De Wette. Or, the pronoun n5<T may agree with mj;, and the 

line be rendered, And after this skin, or body, of mine is wasted away. 
According to either rendering, the meaning will be. Although I should be 
reduced by disease and sorrow to a still lower condition than I am at 
present. The rendering which Gesenius adopts in his Thesaurus does not 
strike me favorably : And after my body is wasted away, this — supply 
shall happen. The expression wasted away does not imply the death of 
Job, but only that he should be extremely reduced by disease ; — without 
my fleshy i. e. reduced to a skeleton. 

27. — my friend : ''^, lit. for me, or on my side. It is so rendered in 

Ps. cxxiv. 1, ** If it had not been the Lord, who was on our side," &c. — 
and not another, ^c. i. e. in my absence, after I am dead. An emphatic 
expression of Job's confidence that before his death he should see the 
favor of God. — For this my soul panfeth within me : lit. my reins are 
consumed : i. e. with desire to see that happy day. So Patrick, Dathe, 
Ros., De Wette, Ges. See Ps. IxxxW. 2, cxix. 81, 82, cxliii. 7. 

28. And find grounds of accusation against him ? So the Sept. and 
Vulg. So Ros. and Ges. 



232 NOTES. 



XIII. 



ZoPHAR, not softened by the earnest and pathetic appeals of Job, nor 
convinced by his solemn protestations of innocence, but rather provoked 
by the impressive warning with which he had closed his last discourse, 
proceeds to portray, by new images and striking examples, the calamities 
which in all ages had been the lot of the wicked. He infers that Job re- 
sembles those in character whom he resembles in condition. 

Ch. XX. 10. His sons shall seek the favor of the poor : i. e. the poor 
whom their father had plundered, and who may require satisfaction or 
reparation. Or it may mean, generally, that they shall be so much 
reduced as to seek the good-will and assistance of the most destitute and 
abject ; a stronger expression than if he had merely said that they should 

become poor. It is placing them below poverty itself. ^nd their hands : 

i. e. the hands of the children of the oppressor : lit. his hands. The 
singular pronoun is in Hebrew not unfrequently thus used. So Deut. xxi. 
10, " When thou goest forth against thine enemies, and God gives him 
into thine hand." See Gesenius' Gram. § 143. 

11. His bones are full of youth : i. e. of youthful vigor. So Ges. 
The same word is used in ch. xxxiii. 25 ; Ps.lxxxix. 45. The meaning is. 
He shall be cut off in his youth — in the fulness of his strength. So the 
Sept. The Syr. and Arab, have it marrow. The Chald., strength. 

12. Though wickedness, ^c. The wickedness in which he takes so 
much pleasure is avarice, with its accompanying crimes, oppression, in- 
justice, and cruelty. The pleasure which a depraved mind has in the in- 
dulgence of its criminal inclination is compared to an epicure's enjoyment 
of some delicious morsel. 

14. Yet his meat shall be changed within him.: i. e. changed into some- 
thing of an opposite nature as from sweet to bitter, from nutritious to 
poisonous. His meat is riches acquired by oppression ; but it is poisoned. 
A curse is connected with iniquitous acquisition. This is the poison of asps 
to him, even the Divine vengeance. Scott. 

15. He hath glutted, ^c. The original word is very forcible. The 
metaphor included in it is drawn from a ravenous beast devouring his 
prey, denoting great voracity. — And he shall throw them up again: as 
an epicure does that which he has drunk or swallowed with greediness and 
delight. The sudden loss of his ill-gotten wealth, and the intolerable 
anguish of his mind in suffering such loss, are involved in this strong 



JOB. 233 

metaphor. The curse or vengeance of God "will bring this punishment ; 
God shall cast them out of him. 

16. He shall suck the poison of asps. That which he greedily swallowed, 
as pleasant nutriment, shall be as destructive to him as the poison of asps. 

17. — rivers of honey and milk. These are Oriental emblems of 
abundance and felicity. The wicked man shall not have that secure and 
permanent enjoyment of the good things of this life which he expected, or 
which is promised to the good. 

18. It is substance to be restored. See Ges. upon HIIDj^. So De 
Wette. "^ *• 

20. Because he knew no rest, Sfc : i. e. because his cupidity was in- 
satiable. 

21. Because nothing esca,ped his greediness : i. e. his rapacity. So 
Heath, Ros., and De Wette. — His prosperity shall not endure. JVon 
durabit bonum ejus. Syr. JVihil permanebit de bonis ejus. Vulg. 
ovx ar-&i'a^i. uvTov t\x ayada. Sept. 

22. Every hand of the wretched: i. e. Every blow or wound which cometh 
upon the wretched. So in ch. xxiii. 2, " My wound is deeper/' ^c, is, in 
the original, My hand is deeper ^ Sfc. ; the instrument being used for the effect. 
Omnis dolor. Vulg;. iraaa dvdyKr)' Sept. 

23. He shall, indeed, have wherewith to Jill himself. This is said 
sarcastically. The next line shows what sort of food he was to have. 
— for his food. iD^vhz. So Schult., Ges., and Ros. See Ps. xi. 6. 

Similar images occur in the Koran. Thus : Qui occultant quod Deus 
revelavit, illi non edent in ventribus suis nisi ignem. 

24. He JJeeth, Sfc. This was probably a proverbial expression, like 
that in Latin, Incidit in Scyllam, cupiens vitare Charybdim. 

26. — is treasured up for him : lit. is hidden, or laid up, for his 
treasures. See Rom, ii. 6. — A Jire, not blown : i. e. not kindled by man, 
but sent from heaven : i. e. lightning. 

27. The heavens shall reveal his iniquity : i. e. by lightning, for in- 
stance, such as destroyed the herds of Job, or by storms of wind, such as 
destroyed his children. — .^nd the earth shall rise up against him : i. e. 
when wild beasts, venomous serpents, or bands of rotbers shall destroy 
his substance. 



234 NOTES. 



XIV. 



The opponents of Job had persisted in maintaining that great calamities 
were a proof of uncommon guilt ; that they were the portion of the 
wicked, and of them only. This position Job overthrows, by adducing 
instances of impious men who pass their lives in ease and prosperity, enjoy 
a comfortable old age, and are favored with an easy death. Ch. xxi. 6 - 16. 
They might object, that the fear of reverses must mar the enjoyment of 
the guilty ; but he contends that such reverses happen so seldom, that 
the bad have not more reason to fear them than the good. 16 - 18. They 
might say that the children of the impious man suffered, if he did not ; 
but he asserts, with justice, that this is no punishment to the offender who 
is numbered with the dead. 19-21 He maintains, that, of two persons 
of the same character, one might be seen enjoying uninterrupted prosper- 
ity, and the other suffering misery without cessation ; and that both came 
to the same end. 22 - 26. Perceiving by their looks that they were not 
satisfied, but still regarded his miserable condition as evidence of his guilt, 
he appeals to the testimony of travellers, who would mention instances of 
great oppressors who had escaped in a time of general destruction, and 
died a peaceful death ; who had been buried with great pomp, and had 
had so splendid a monument erected to their memory that they almost 
seemed to flourish and live again in their very tombs. 27 - 34. 

Ch. XXI. 2. And let this be your consolation : i. e I will regard your 
candid attention as an equivalent for those consolations which I had reason 
to expect from you. 

4. Is my complaint concerning man 7 The preposition 7 means of or 
concerning^ in Gen. xx. 13, and elsewhere. See Ges. He seems to in- 
timate that he had not so much reason to complain of man or of his friends, 
as of the severe afflictions which he received from God, whilst so many 
wicked men enjoyed prosperity. — JVhy then should I not be angry? 
Siari ov ^} uoSijCfouai ; Sept. He seems to consider the fact that his 
misery was sent upon him by God, notwithstanding his endeavors to please 
him, as a sufficient reason for his impatience and complaints. 

5. Look upon me, ^c. Silent astonishment, instead of censure, should 
be the effect of beholding a man of integrity and piety in my afflicted 
condition, while so many contemners of God, and oppressors of his crea- 
tures, are happy in life and fortunate in death. 

6. When I think of it : i. e. of what follows, viz., the prosperous 
condition of t^ wicked. 



JOB. 235 

12. They sing, Sfc. -1X1!'% sell. *71p, aitollunt vocem. See Is. xlii. 2. 

13. And in a moment, ^c. This assertion is opposed to Zophar's re- 
presentation of the terrible death of such men, in ch. xx. 24, 25. See also 
ch. xviii. 12, 13. This is that sudden and easy death, in a green old age, 
without pain, without lingering sickness, and while their families are 
flourishing around them, which Tiresias predicts to Ulysses in the shades : 
" Death shall come to thee from the sea. It shall be a gentle death. It 
ehall come when thou art subdued by a happy old age, and thy people 
about thee are happy." Odyss. xi. 133, &c. Scott, So Suetonius, after 
describing the death of Augustas, says : Sortitus est exitum facilem, et 
qualem semper optaverat. Nam fere, quo ties audisset cito ac nuUo 
jruciatu de unctum quempiam, sibi et suis sv-d-araniav similem (hoc enim et 
verbo uti so ebat) precabatur. Life of Augustus, § 99. 

16. Thou sayest, <§*c. There can be no doubt that, in the first line, at 
least, of this verse, Job refers to the sentiments advanced by his opponents, 
and probably in both. Some suppose that the first line is ironical ; and 
that, in the second, Job expresses his abhorrence of wickedness, notwith- 
standing the prosperity which often accompanies it. 

17. How often happens it, SfC, This question is equivalent to the 
assertion that the wicked are seldom in adversity and misery. It is thus 
an answer to the assertion in the preceding verse. 

21. — is completed: i.e. according to Cocceius, is reckoned in full 
tale : i. e. when he has lived out the whole term of human life. 

22. Who v. en shall impart knowledge to God, ^c. Shall we be so bold 
as to instruct God how to govern the world, and to tell him that he is not 

just, unless he punish the wicked when we expect it ? He judges the 
highest beings, and therefore surely knows how to govern us. He that 
rules the world of spirits surely knows how to manage the little concerns 
of mankind. 

24. His sides, ^c. Otherwise, His pastures are full of milk. See 
Ges. upon VtD}}, Lalera ejus plena adipe. Arab, and Syr. tu de tyxara 

avrov nXi'fj}] aihUTog, Sept. Viscera ejus plena sunt adipe. Vulg. 

28. For ye say, ^-c. Although these questions relate to tyrannical 
princes in general, and to other wicked men in high stations, they are in- 
tended to be applied to Job's overthrow in particular. His adversaries 
still insisted that destructive calamities are the usual portion of the wicked ; 
and that, such calamities being his portion, there was wanting no other 
evidence of his guilt. But the testimony of travellers, as he tells them, 
shows the Msity of their premises, and therefore of the conclusion drawn 
from them. Scott. 

30. That the wicked is spared in the d ty of destruction : i. e. when 
destruction comes upon other men. So Merc , Schult , Pat., Ros., and 



236 NOTES. 

Ges. — And that he is borne to his grave in the day of wrath. See ver. 
82, and x. 10. He dies a natural, peaceful death. 

82. Eue?i this vian, SfC, He is too powerful to be called to account by 
man, and, not meeting with chastisement from God, he goes to the grave 
with all the honors of interment usually paid to personages of the highest 
rank. Scott. — Yea, he, still watches over his tomb. So Dathe, Ros., 
Eichhorn, and De Wette. He enjoys, as it were, a second life upon his 
tomb, in the honors paid to his memory, his splendid monument, and the 
fame he leaves behind him. xul avrug inl aviQow i]yQV7ivi]asv, Sept. 
Et super congeriem vigilabit. Chald. Et in congerie mortuorum vigila- 
bit. Vulg. 

83. — the sods of the valley, ^c. These words also seem to suppose 
that the person who is buried may partake, in some respects, of the pros- 
perous state of the tomb which contains him. See the note on ch. xiv. 
22. Such an idea seems to have been indulged by Sultan Amurath the 
Great, who died in 1450. ** Presently after his death, Mahomet his Sonne, 
for feare of some innovation to be made at home, raised the siege, and re- 
turned to lladrianople: and afterwards with great solemnitie buried his 
dead body at the west side of Prusa, in the suburbs of the citie, where he 
now lieth, in a chappell without any roofe, his grave nothing differing 
from the manner of the common Turks ; which, they say, he commanded 
to be done, in his last will, that the mercie and blessing of God (as he 
termed it) might come unto him by the shining of the sunne and moone 
and falling of the reine and dew of heaven upon his grave." Knolles'' 

Hist, of the Turks, p. 332. Burder's Oriental Customs, No. 607. ^7id 

all men, ^c. In going down to the grave, he does but share the common 
lot of mortals. Innumerable multitudes have gone thither before him, 
and the succeeding generations of men shall follow him to the same place 
of assembly for all the living. Others suppose a funeral procession to be 
referred to. 



XV. 



Here begins the third series of controversy. Eliphaz. unable to refute 
the reasoning in Job's last discourse, founded as it was on undeniable facts, 
proceeds to misrepresent his sentiments, and even to charge him with par- 
ticular crimes. He begins with an attempt to expose to ridicule Job's com* 
plaints respecting his afflictions, his assertions of his innocence, and his 
appeals to the Deity, as if he had set up arrogant claims upon the divine 



JOB. 237 

justice, and had demanded a reward for his goodness. Ch. xxii. 1-5. 
He goes on to assert that Job's wickedness, and not injustice on the part 
of the Deity, was the cause of his misery, and charges him with a variety 
of enormous crimes. 6-11. He also accuses him of having adopted the 
corrupt princiiDles of those impious men, who^ in former times, had 
perished by a flood, and warns him not to pursue their course, and thus 
incur their punishment. 12-20. In conclusion, he exhorts him to re- 
pentance, and gives a splendid picture of the prosperity to which he might 
look as a reward, 21-30. 

Ch. XXII. 2. Behold, the wise man profiteth himself. Comp. xxxv. 7. 
Prov. ix. 12, Whatever wisdom or goodness a man has, he has the benefit 
of it, not God. 

4. Will he contend, ^c. ? i. e. in a judicial controversy. Is he afraid 
that his character will suffer by thy complaints, unless, m obedience to thy 
citation, he submit to a trial, and argue his cause before some tribunal ? 

7. Thou hast given, Sfc. Among the Eastern nations hospitality was, 
and still is, regarded as a duty of the most sacred obligation. 

8. But the man of power had the land : i. e. The rich were always 
welcome to Job ; his house was open to them, and his land before them, 
while the poor were driven away from his house and territories. Or per- 
haps it is a more general proverbial expression, denoting the partiality 
and honor with which Job regardei the great and powerful. Or the 
meaning may be. Through your connivance, or influence, the great were 
sure to gain their cause, when they set up a claim to the land of the poor. 

9. ^nd broken the arms : i. e. thou hast taken away all their support. 
All the ancient versions render JOT* in the second pers. sing., which 

makes it probable that 5<3in was formerly in the text. 

10. 11. — snares^ This was a common metaphor for danger and des- 
tructive calamities ; as darkness and floods of water for overwhelming 
misery. 

12-20. What Job had said, in the preceding chapter, of the general 
impunity and prosperity of the wicked, was matter of ftxct. But this 
calumniator misrepresents his discourse, as a denial of a divine providence 
grounded on most absurd notions of the Supreme Being, as though he 
were limited in his presence, and could not see what passeth in our world. 
— The immense distance of heaven, the habitation of God, is represented 
by its being far above the stars. Scott. 

13. Can he govern behind the thick darkness ? Can he see, through 
the thick clouds, the crimes that are committed on earth, and thus inflict 
the punishment which they merit ? 



238 NOTES. 

14. And he walkethupon the arch of heaven : i. e. He is at an immense 
distance from the earth, and wholly occupied in the concerns of the 
heavenly world. So Lucretius, Lib. IL 646. 

15. TVilt thou take the old way, ^c. : i. e. Are you willing to adopt 
the principles of those impious men who lived in the time of the deluge ? 

16. — cut down. Lit. seized, hurried away. 

17. By describing the impiety of these men in the very terms used by 
Job in ch. xxi. 14, 15, he confronts their exemplary destruction to Job's 
assertion of the impunity and felicity of such characters. Scott, 

18. — counsel : i. e. purposes, plans, &c. 

24. Cast to the dust thy gold, ^c. : i. e. When thou shalt regard gold as 
of no account, and cease to place thy dependance upon earthly treasure, 
as thou hast done, and shalt place thy trust upon God alone, then, &c. 

27. And thou shalt perform thy vows : i. e. Thou shalt obtain those 
blessings for which thou didst make thy vows, and accordingly perform 
them. 

28. And light shall shine upon thy ways: i. e. Thou shalt have 
success and prosperity in all thy pursuits. 

29. When men are cast down, SfC. The meaning probably is, When 
men are in affliction, or in low circumstances, such shall be the efficacy of 
thy prayers, that God will raise them up. 

30. — him that is not innocent. The particle ••&<, rendered island in 

the common version, is used as a negative in 1 Sam. iv. 21. It is so 
rendered here, in the Chald., and by Le Clerc, Ros., Ges., and De Wette. 
The same sentiment is found in Gen. xviii. 24 ; Ezek. xxii. 80 ; Jer. v. 1. 
Ros. also observes, that it may be designed to refer to ch. xlii. 8, &c., 
where it appears that Jehovah forgave the friends of Job on account of 
his intercession. See the note on ch. viii. 7. 



XVI. 



This reply of Job is the effusion of a mind agitated by various strong 
emotions ; by deep grief, ch. xxiii. 2 ; by an earnest desire to argue his 
cause with God, since he could obtain neither justice nor mercy from his 
friends, 3-7 ; by distress, that he could not obtain his desire, 8, 9 ; by 
consolation in the testimony of his conscience, 10-12 ; and by consterna- 
tion and despair, arising from the thought of God's absolute dominion, 
and the immutability of his designs, 13-17. Having in some measure 



JOB. 239 

relieved his mind by the foregoing effusions, he makes one effort more to 
convince his adversaries by reasoning with them. He denies the constancy, 
and even the frequency, of the judgments of God upon wicked men. He 
produces a catalogue of enormous crimes, such as theft, oppression of the 
poor, murder, adultery, and tyranny, at which, as he thinks, the Gover- 
nor of the world seems to connive, by forbearing to punish the authors of 
them ; by suffering them to flourish during life, and to be fortunate and 
happy in the time and circumstances of their death. Ch. xxiv. 

Ch. XXIII. 2. — 7ny wound : lit. my hand : i. e. the hand of God upon 
me. 

3. O that I knew, ^c. He desires to go before the tribunal of God, as 
a man, whose character has been assailed, may demand a trial at an 
earthly bar. 

6 Would he contend, SfC, 7 i. e. He would not overawe me, or put me 
down, by his superior power, but would rather listen to what I might offer 
in my defence. — would have regard: DJi^% 13^ being understood. See 

T • 

iv. 20, xxxiv. 23. 

7. Then would an upright man, ^c. He speaks of himself in the 
third person. 

8, 9. These words are designed to express, not the mere invisibility of 
the Deity, but the earnest desire of Job, conscious, as he was, of his in 
nocence, to obtain some visible manifestation of the Deity, and to expostu 
late with him, face to fice, upon his unmerited sufferings. Scott. The 
Hebrews, like some other of the Oriental nations, in speaking of the 
different quarters of the heavens, regarded themselves as facing the East, 
the rising sun. Backward would then be West ; the left. North ; and the 
Light, South See Ges. Thes. ad "iinN- — where he workeih : Some 

suppose that God is represented as working in the places northward from 
Job, because mankind were there most numerous, and most attentive in 
observing the works of God. But may there not here be an allusion to 
an opinion, which is known to have prevailed amongst the ancient eastern 
nations, that in the farthest regions of the north was a high mountain, 
corresponding to the Olympus of the Greeks, where was the seat or 
peculiar residence of God, or the Gods? See Is. xiv. 13 ; Ezek. i. 4, and 
the notes, and the dissertation on the subject of the Oriental opinion above 
referred to, appended to Gesenius's Comment, on Isaiah, vol. IIL p. 316. 

10. But he knoweth, ^c. But my consolation is, that God seeth my 
heart and my conduct. — he t/ , % mc : i. e. he examineth and proveth 
my character. 

12. Above my own law : i. e. above what my own des'res dictated. 

14. He performeth, S^c. : i. e. without regard to my expostulations, 



240 NOTES. 

pleadings, and protestations, he proceeds to inflict upon me what he had 
purposed to inflict. Comp. ch. x. 13, 14. — such things : i. e. proceedings 
of God's providence, as dark and unaccountable as his dealings toward 
me. 

17. — darkness: i. e. affliction, misery. 

Ch. XXIV. 1. Why are not times y ^c. — days : i. e. such as those of the 
deluge, the destruction of Sodom, &c. days of God are days when he 
manifests himself in retribution or judgment for sin. Why are not the 
wicked visited with signal punishments, which the righteous may recog- 
nise as such ? For the meaning given to nj^, see Is. xiii. 22 ; Jer. xxvii. 

7 ; Ezek. xxx. 3 ; Ecc. ix. 11, 12. 

2. — and pasture them. They are so shameless, that they pasture, in 
public view, the flocks which they have stolen from the helpless. 

4. — from the way. The proud rich men push the poor from the way, 
when they meet, and oblige them to retreat, as it were to hide themselves. 

5. — they go forth to their work: i. e. the poor and needy, of the pre- 
ceding verse, who go forth to their daily toil of seeking such roots and 
vegetables as the woods and mountains aflbrd for their miserable subsis- 
tence. So Cocceius and Schultens, who refer to Ecclesiasticus xiii. 19. 

6. — the harvest : lit. his harvest, referring to oppressor^ in the next 
line. 

7. Dr. Shaw tells us that in Arabia Petraea the day is intensely hot, 
and the night intensely cold. Travels ; p. 438. 4to. Scott. 

8. £nd embrace the rock. This exactly agrees with what Niebuhr says 
of the modern wandering Arabs, near Mount Sinai, Voyage en Arabic, 
tom. I. p. 187. : " Those who cannot afford a tent spread out a cloth 
upon four or six stakes ; and others spread their cloth near a tree, or 
endeavor to shelter themselves from the heat and the rain in the cavities 
of the rocks." Burder. 

10, 11. So Addison^ in his Letter from Italy : 

The poor inhabitant beholds in vain 
The reddening orange and the swelling grain ; 
Joyless he sees the growing oils and wines, 
And in the myrtle's fragrant shade repines ; 
Starves, in the midst of nature's bounty curst, 
And in the loaden vineyard dies for thirst. 

12. And God regardeth not their prayer ! ^•']i;\ for ^S Sj? D''i^\ to lay 
to heart, to regard. Ps. 1. 23. And, by altering the points, nSsD, folly. 



JOB. 



241 



becomes n^Sn, a prayer ; "which is the reading of two manuscripts, 

and of the Syriac yersion. So Doed. and Dathe. Others, And God 
regarded not the wickedness. 

13. Others hate the light, ^c. : lit. These, i. e. the following, ure 
among those who hate, Spc. So Merc. This is a description of criminals 
who practise their deeds of violence and injustice under the protection of 
darkness, 

14. With the light. Sfc, : i. e. Very early, by day-break. Micah ii. 1 , 
«« Wo to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds ! in the 
light of the morning they practise it." 

15. And putteth a mask upon his face. So Juv. Sat. viii. 144. : 



■ si nocturnus adulter 



Tempera Santonico velas adoperta cucullo. 

16. In the daytime they shut themselves up. See Ges. upon DHH. 

iOipayKrav savTovg, Sept. 

17. The morning, which discovers their evil deeds, is as terrible and 
hateful to these criminals as the shadow of death, or the grossest darkness, 
is to other people. — They are familiar with : i. e. They like and desire 
the terrors of midnight darkness : i. e. midnight darkness which is terrible 
to others. So Merc, Poole and Ros. 

18. Light are they, ^c, : This line expresses the speed with which he 
is hurried away as a retribution for his crimes, like a light substance, or 
a stream ; or the speed with which the person escapes after the commission 
of a crime. — accursed portion, ^c. : i. e. They dwell in desert and un- 
cultivated places. — the vineyards : i. e. the abodes of civilized men, 
lest they be apprehended. The explanation of this and the following 
difficult verses is that adopted by Mercier, Patrick, and Pvos. 

20. And iniquity, ^c. i. e. The unrighteous man is destroyed as 
completely as a tree, which, once broken or cut down, cannot grow again. 

21. He oppresseth the barren, ^c. He adds affliction to one who has no 
children to help her, and who is already afflicted with that which in those 
days was regarded as a curse and reproach. 

22. He taketh away : i. e. destroy eth. See Ps. xxviii. 8 ; Ezek. xxxii. 
20. He riseth up : i. e. against the mighty, and every one of them fears 
for his life. Ros. 

23 God giveth : lit. He giveth. See note on ch. iii. 20. — And his eyes 
are upon their ways : i. e. God seems to smile upon them and prosper 
them in all their enterprises. 

24. They are exalted, ^c. The complaint is, 1. that the wicked are 

11 



242 NOTES. 

advanced to great preeminence ; 2. that they are favored with a death 
quick and easy, which is preceded by no reverse of their prosperity, is 
brought on by no disease, and is embittered by no sharp and lingering 
pains. This indulgent circumstance is happily illustrated by the beautiful 
simile which closes the period. Scott, 



XVII. 



The short reply of Bildad, in the twenty- fifth chapter, asserts, in a 
lofty strain, the awful majesty, supreme dominion, and infinite perfection 
of the Deity. Hence he infers the excessive arrogance of justifying one's 
self before God, and impeaching the rectitude of his government. His 
remarks are directed against the conduct of Job in calling upon God for a 
trial, and in using arguments which seemed to call in question God's 
justice. He does not attempt to answer the assertions of Job, in the last 
chapter, respecting the prosperity of the wicked. These were founded on 
facts which could not be denied, and which could not be explained on the 
principles of Job's opponents. It is, therefore, probable that the poet 
assigned this last feeble effort to Bildad, merely in order to give occasion 
to the triumph of Job in the chapter following. 

Ch. XXV. 2. He maintaineth peace in his high places : L e. He ruleth 
all the inhabitants of heaven in peace and harmony. Ch. xxi. 22. 

8. — his hosts ? i. e. the stars, as is probable from the parallel line ; or 
his angels. See Dan. iT. 35. — A/id upon whom doth not his light a.rise ? 
Some suppose that this line is intended to set forth the glory of God in 
general, as manifested in the universal diffusion of light ; as, in ch. 
xxxvi. 30, he is said to spread around himself his light, and, elsewhere, 
to cover himself with light, as with a garment, and to dwell in the light 
which no man can approach unto. Others, that it expresses the omnis- 
cience of God ; that it represents his light as penetrating eve**T-tLin^ J'-nd 
making everything known. Others, that his light here denotes k^'f v**-^ 

5. Behold, even the moon, ^c. So the Vulg., £cce, lu-^i marn «u»»i 
splendeU Comp. Is. xxiv. 23. 



JOB. 243 



XVIII. 



Job begins his reply with sarcasms upon his last opponent, as havir g 
offered nothing relevant to the subject in dispute. He then endeavors to 
show that, if the question related to the power and perfections of the 
Deity, he could speak in as lofty a style as his opponents of the effects of 
the divine power in heaven, earth, and the regions under the earth. His 
purpose is to show that his confident assertions of his innocence are by no 
means inconsistent with the most exalted views of the wisdom and power 
of the Governor of the world ; that he adores the perfections of God, and 
yet denies that his misery is a proof of his guilt. 

Ch. XXVI. 2. — the weak. There has been a doubt to whom this 
ironical expression is to be applied ; whether to Job, to the other two 
opponents of Job, or to the Deity. From the connection, verse 4, and 
from the design and tenor of the whole chapter, it seems most probable 
that Job refers to himself. 

4. For whom, Sfc. : i. e. Do you think me ignorant of the perfections 
of God, that you address me on the subject with such a magisterial air ? 
or J3y whom, i. e. by whose aid, &c. — And whose spirit spake through 
thee ? i. e. To what extraordinary inspiration canst thou pretend ? 

6. — the shades : i. e ghosts, departed spirits, the inhabitants of Hades, 
or the under-world, whom the ancient Hebrews conceived of as without 
strength and with little sensation, mere shadows of what they once were ' 
Bi'SwXa >fai/oJTo)7. See Ps. Ixxxviii. 10 ; Prov. ii. 18, ix. 18, xxi. 16 ; Is 
xiv. 9, 10, xxvi. 14, 19. — tremble: 1. e. at the majesty and power o* 
God. The verb ^in is often used in this sense, and io so rendered in the 
common version, in Hab. iii. 10. — the waters, SfC. : i. e. the seas and aU 
the monsters that inhabit their lowest depths. 

6. The under-icorld — Destruction. These are different words, ex- 
pressing the same thing, viz. the abode of departed spirits, which was 
supposed to be a vast cavern, far in the interior of the eo.rth. See tht? 
passages referred to in the preceding note , and Ja,hn's Archaeology, §§ 203 
and 207. With this description of the Hebrew poet, compare the passage 
on the same topic, quoted by Longiixus from Homer, a^ ok<; cf unrivalled 
sublimity. Iliad, xx. 61. 

7 He stretcheth out the Jvorra • \ 6. the nortlier-j hemirsphere, or the 



244 NOTES. 

whole yisible heaven, like a canopy or tent. Is. xl. 22. — upon no king' 
i. e. without anything to support it. 

And eaxth self-balanced from her centre hung. 

8. He bindeth, ^c. : i. e. He collecteth the waters into the clouds, as 
it were, in bottles or vessels, which do not let them fall until he is pleased 
to send them, drop by drop, upon the earth. 

9. — the face of his throne : i. e. the clear sky, which is sometimes 
covered with clouds. Is. Ixvi. 1, ** The heaven is my throne." 

10. He hath drawn a circular bound, 4"C. The ancients seem to have 
believed that only the northern hemisphere enjoyed the light of the sun, 
and that all below the horizon was in perpetual darkness. They also 
supposed that the earth was surrounded by water, upon which the concave 
of heaven seemed to rest, and hence the idea of a circular bound, drawn, 
as it were, by compasses at the extreme verge of the celestial hemisphere, 
where the light was supposed to end, and the darkness to begin. See 
Virg. Georg. I. 247. 

11. The pillars of heaven tremble. Some suppose that the mountains 
of the earth, upon which the sky seems to rest, are intended ; but it is 
more probable that the vault of heaven is represented as an immense 
edifice, supported on lofty columns, like a temple. — his rebuke : i. e. 
thunder, lightning, and tempestuous winds, which were supposed to be 
tokens of God's displeasure. 

12. — he smiteth its pride : i. e. he restrains its rage, and turns a 
storm into a calm. So Is. li. 15. 

13. — the fleeing Serpent : i. e. the fugacious, fugitive serpent ; an 
epithet borrowed from the living serpent, but referring to the constellation 
of the great Serpent or Dragon in the Northern hemisphere. The reader 
will remark the coincidence of this epithet with the word elabitur in 
Virgil, Georg. I. 244. 

14. Lo ! these are hut the borders of his works : i. e. We are acquaint- 
ed only with the surface and outlines of the works of God. — How faint 
the whisper, ^c. : i. e. How very little do we know concerning the divine 
operations ! — But the thunder of his power. By this expression I under- 
stand the higher exertions of his power, as opposed to its ordinary opera- 
tions, with which we are in some measure acquainted. The meaning thus 
will be, that what is known of God's works is to that which is unknown 
as a whisper to a peal of thunder. Others suppose that the thunder of 
his power means the loudest and most terrible thunder. But it is not 
probable that he referred to literal thunder, as a special mystery among 
the works of God. 



JOB. 245 



XIX. 



The three friends of Job now give up the discussion. Bildad, his last 
opponent, had said but a few words, and those in the manner of a retreat- 
ing adversary. He had also been triumphantly driven, as it were, from his 
ground by Job. Zophar, therefore, is represented as thinking it prudent 
to make no reply. From this discomfiture of his opponents, Job, taking 
courage, goes on to express his feelings and views, in a more calm, but 
not less decided manner than before. He begins with a renewed and 
solemn declaration of his innocence, and expresses the most resolute 
determination to assert it against all who may call it in question, to the 
very last moment of his life. Ch. xxvii. 2-7. On account of what he 
had said of the prosperity of the wicked, his opponents had accused him 
of approving them, and of envying their condition. He therefore ex- 
presses his abhorrence of a vicious character, and speaks of the satisfac- 
tions arising from virtue and piety, to which the wicked man is a stranger. 
8-10. He had all along maintained, in opposition to his friends, that 
this world is not the scene of a regular distribution of good and evil; that 
virtue is often oppressed, and vice triumphant ; and that the greater part of 
wicked men go unpunished, grow old in ease and affluence, and at length 
die in peace. But now, having reduced his opponents to silence, he 
frankly owns that there are some examples of divine vengeance, such as 
they had asserted ; that the evils which sometimes, though not always, as 
they contended, are the consequences of guilt, are sufficient to deter him 
from envying the condition of the wicked, and from following their evil 
courses. 11-23. The inconsistency of Job is only apparent, proper 
allowance being made for strong expressions elicited by the heat of con- 
troversy. He concedes not his main position, viz., that the innocent often 
suifer. He holds fast his innocence, and will not let it go. He admits not 
the main conclusion of his opponents, viz., that human suffering always 
implies guilt, or that he is wicked because he is a sufferer. His present 
leliberate position is, that, as the virtuous do suffer, there is some 
mysterious cause of human suffering besides the vices of men. while he 
admits the correctness of the representations of his opponents respecting 
the ordinary consequences of sin. Thus the dispute is brought to a crisis. 
Without this concession, compromise, or apparent inconsistency in the 
language of Job, there could have been no end to discourses on the miseries 
of sin, on the one hand, and the prosperity of the wicked, on the other. 



246 NOTES. 

The difficulty, therefore, which has puzzled so many critics, and led Dr. 
Kennicott to propose an important alteration in the text, proves to be a 
necessary part of the plan of the profound and ingenious author of the 
book. 

The subject of the next chapter is wisdom : i. e, that high, absolute 
Divine wisdom, which formed the plan, and directs all the concerns, of 
the Universe. Job had allowed, in the former chapter, that God makes 
examples of some wicked men. He had maintained, in ch. xxi., that 
others equally guilty escape with impunity. He had also asserted, in ch. 
ix. 22, that general calamities involve the best and the worst men in one 
common destruction. These are perplexing appearances. Hence his 
thoughts are naturally led up to those impenetrable counsels which direct 
all this seeming confusion. The powers of the human mind have made 
surprising discoveries in natural things. Man has penetrated the bowels 
of the earth, and surmounted the greatest obstacles for the purpose of 
obtaining the treasures hidden in those regions of darkness. But all the 
riches of the world cannot purchase, nor the highest genius and industry 
of man attain, the knowledge of the whole plan of Providence in the 
administration of the world, or the reasons for which he sometimes sends 
calamities upon individuals. Only He can comprehend the whole to 
whom are known all his works from the beginning. The inference is, that 
instead of prying into mysteries which he cannot understand, the duty of 
man is to adore his Maker, and obey his commandments. This is the 
wisdom proper to man. 

Oh. XXVII. 2. — who hath rejected my cause : i. e. who hath refused 
me justice. 

4. — deceit : i. e. the deceit of confessing guilt, of which he is not 
conscious. 

6. / will hold fast, ^c. I will continue to assert it, or I will not 
acknowledge that I am guilty. I will be as tenacious of it as a good 
soldier is of his shield. The original term for hold fast is the same as 
that used in ?s. xxxv. 2, in connection with a shield. — My heart, ^c. 
ov ylxo ai'roidu finxvTco uTuna noutug, Sept. JVeque enim reprehendit me 
cor meum in omni vitd meet. Vulg. 

8. — cntteth off his web, ^c. This metaphor seems to be drawn from 
the weaver, who, when his web is nnished, cuts it off from the thrum by 
which it was fastened to the beam. See vi. 9 ; and Is. xxxviii. 12. 
Otherwise, i^/ten he hath gotten plunder, — taketh away his life, lit. 
draweth out his life : i. e. as a sword from its sheath. Schnurrer con- 
jectures that Sl^'^ is contracted for Sxii^\ in which case the meaning will 

be, demandeth his life. 



JOB. 247 

12. — vain thoughts : i. e. such as they had expressed, when they maiiL- 
tained that suffering was a sure proof of guilt, or that Job was suffering 
the punishment of a grossly wicked man, such as he goes on to describe. 
See the introductory remarks to this chapter. 

13. The passage from this verse to the end of the chapter presents a 
difficulty ; since, at first view. Job seems to renounce his former senti- 
ments, and to adopt those of his opponents. One method of explaining 
it, satisfactory to me, is given in the introduction to this chapter. 

14. — it is for the sword : i. e. they shall be slain in war. 

15. — shall be buried by Death : i. e. they shall have no grave-digger 
but Death; or, they shall be unburied. See Jer. xvi. 4. Others render it, 
shall be brought to the grave by the pestilence, ^avarog sometimes has 
this meaning in the Apocalypse. 

16. And procure raiment as clay. It was the custom of the ancients 
to lay up raiment in their treasuries as well as gold and silver. So Virgil 
of Messapus, Mn. ix. 26. : 

Dives equCtm, dives pictaY vestis et auri. 

It Is customary through all the East, says Sir J. Chardin, to gather to- 
gether immense quantities of furniture and clothes ; for their fashions 
never alter. 

18. — like the moth. The house and family of the oppressor shall not 
be more durable than the slight fabric which the moth makes in a garment, 
and which is destroyed when the garment is moved or shaken. See Dr. 
Harris's Nat. Hist, of the Bible, p. 297. — Or like the shedj ^c. : which 
was made for the watchman of a garden, whose business it was to defend 
the fruit from birds and beasts while it was ripening, and which was 
taken down when the fruit was gathered. See Is. i. 8. Niebuhr, in his 
Description of Arabia, p. 139, says, ** In the mountains of Yemen they 
have a sort of nest in the trees, where the Arabs sit to watch their fields 
after they have been planted. But in the Kehama, where there are but 
few trees, they build a light kind of scaffolding for this purpose." Mr. 
Southey opens the fifth part of his Curse of Kehama with a similar 
allusion, quoted by Dr. Good : 

Evening comes on : arising from the stream. 
Homeward the tall flamingo wings his flight ; 
And where he sails athwart the setting beam, 
His scarlet plumage glows with deeper light. 
The watchman , at the wished approach of night. 
Gladly forsakes the field, where he, all day. 
To scare the winged plunderers from their prey. 
With shout and sling, on yonder clay-built height, 
Hath borne the sultry ray. 



248 NOTES. 

19. The rich man lieth down: i. e. dies. — and is not buried: lit. not 
gathered : i. e. as the slaia are gathered in battle for burial. — In the twink' 
ling of an eye he is no more: lit. He openeth his eyes, and is no more. So Merc, 
Ges., and Ros. 



Ch. XXVIII. 2. And stone is melted into copper. So Pliny, Nat. Hist. 
xxxiv. 1, 22, and xxxvi. 27, 66 : JEs fit ex lapide seroso, quern vocant Cad- 
miam ; et igne lapides in ses solvuntur. 

3. Man putteth an end to darkness : i. e. The darkest recesses of the 
earth are made light by torches, carried thither by man. — For the 
stone of darkness. Schultens supposes the centre of the earth to be 
denoted by this expression. Others, the metallic ore in the darkest parts 
of the earth. 

4. From the place where they dwell : ^} DJ^D. Following Schultens, 

y • •• 

who assigns to *^J a meaning from the Arabic, I formerly rendered these 
words, From the foot of the mountain. The present rendering is according 
to the common meaning of the Hebrew terms. Gesenius supposes the ex- 
pression to be elliptical for DK^ "M '^yi^. DI^^> ^^^' From there where one 

dwells: i. e From the surface of the earth, the abode of man. This cor- 
responds 'vith the last line of the verse, they swing away from men. — a 
shaft : i. 'j. a passage leading into a mine. — Forgotten by the feet : i. e. 
unsupported by the feet. They do not descend by their feet, but are let 
down b/ ropes or baskets. 

5. - torn up, Sj^c. : i. e. Effects are produced by man, in excavating the 
earth, similar to those produced by subterranean fires. So Pliny : Perse- 
quip.uir omnes ejus (terrae) fibras, vivimusque super excavatam. . . . Imus in 
visrera ejus, et in sede Manium opes quaerimus, tanquam parum benigna 
fertilique, quaqua calcatur [perhaps, secatur]. Hist Nat. xxxiii. 1. 

7. The path thereto : i. e. to the place of sapphires, gold ore, &c. Verses 
7 and 8 are probably designed to illustrate the intrepidity of man in pene- 
trating these dangerous regions of darkness. The most far-sighted birds 
could not see them, or find their way to them. The most daring beasts of 
prey would not venture into them. Vulture : I think it better to rely on the 
Sept. and other ancient versions as to this meaning, than on uncertain 
etymological conjecture. 

9. Man layeth his hand, ^c. This and the following verses describe the 
immense labor and difficulty of working a mine. Man overcomes every 
obstacle which nature has placed in his way. 

10. He cleaveth out streams, ^c. This was done either for the purpose of 
drawing off the water which impeded their operations, or of washing the 
impure ore. 



JOB. 249 

11. —hindeth up the streams, ^c, : i. e. the water which trickles down 
the shaft of the mine. 

12. But where shall wisdom be found 7 Having given an imposing 
view of the powers of man in regard to natural things, he proceeds to 
give as emphatic a representation of his inability to fathom the counsels of 
God, or to understand the reasons which direct him in the government of 
the world, particularly in the distribution of happiness and misery. 

13. Man knoweth not the price thereof: i. e. He hath no means or 
ability to obtain it. 

21. And kept close from the fowls of the air : i. e. The residence of 
wisdom is beyond the flight of the swiftest and strongest birds. This is 
saying, in a poetical and perhaps a proverbial manner, that this wisdom 
is not to be found within the limits of our world. Scolt, 

22. Destruction and Death : i. e. the under-world. Hades. — We 
have heard a rumor, ^c. : i. e. It is at such an immense distance from us, 
that we have only heard a rumor respecting it. 

23. God knoweth the way to it : i. e. God only knoweth the reasons of 
his dispensations to men. 

27. — and make it known : i. e. to his angels. Or, He made his 
wisdom visible in his works, 

28. — that is wisdom : i. e. The wisdom of man does not consist in 
the knowledge of the reasons of the divine government, but in piety and 
holiness. 



XX. 



Job now returns to his own case, as a striking illustration of the mys- 
terious ways of Providence, of which he had spoken in the last chapter. 
His aim is to show that all his pleadings and complaints were well founded. 
He beautifully descants upon his former prosperity, ch. xxix., and 
exhibits the striking contrast between it and his present affliction and de- 
basement, ch. XXX. Lastly, in answer to the unfounded insinuations and 
false charges of his friends, he relates the principal transactions of his 
past life, asserts his integrity, as displayed in the discharge of all his 
duties relating to God and man, and again appeals to the omniscience and 
justice of God in attestation of his sincerity. Ch. xxxi. Lmvth, 

11* 



250 NOTES. 



Ch. XXIX. 3. When his lamp shone over my head. The houses of 
•Egypt, according to Maillet, are never without lights in the night-time. If 
such were the ancient custom, not only of Egypt, but of the neighboring 
countries of Judea and Arabia, it will strongly illustrate this passage. 
Mr. Scott, however thinks that there is probably an allusion to the lamps 
which hung from the ceiling in the banqueting rooms of the wealthy 
Arabs. — walked through darkness. Here is reference probably to the fires, 
or other lights, which were carried before the caravans in their night-travels 
through the deserts. The extraordinary favor of God and his protecting 
care are denoted by the metaphors in both parts of this verse. 

4. The autumn of my days, i. e. the ripeness, the maturity of my 
age. Comp. the Greek ojiwQa. Or autumn may refer to the time of his 
greatest outward prosperity ; of the ripest fruits of life. 

6. When I bathed, ^-c. : i. e. When streams of milk met me, as it were, 
wherever I went. Olive groves and abundance of cattle made the prin- 
cipal wealth of the Arabs. The best olives grew upon the rocky 
mountains. Hence the bold figures by which the Arabs express a condi- 
tion of uncommon felicity. See Deut. xxxii. 13, 14. Scott, 

7. — to the gate : i. e. the forum, or place where the courts were held. 
ind took mij seat, ^-c. ** Job here speaks of himself as a civil magis- 
trate, who had a seat erected for him to sit upon whilst he was hearing 
and trying causes ; and this was set up in the street, in the open air, 
before the gate of the city, where great numbers might be convened, and 
hear and see justice done. The Arabs, to this day, hold their courts of 
justice in an open place under the heavens, as in a field, or a market- 
place." Burder^s Oriental Customs, No. 615. 

8. The young men, ^c. Savary, in his Letters on Egypt, Vol. I. p. 
149, says, " The children are educated in the woman's apartment, and do 
not come into the hall, especially when strangers are there. Young 
people are silent when in this hall ; if men-grown, they are allowed to 
join the conversation ; but when the Sheik begins to speak, they cease, 
and attentively listen. If he enters an assembly, all rise ; they give him 
way in public, and everywhere show him esteem and respect." — And 
the aged arose and stood. This is a most elegant description, and exhibits 
most correctly the great reverence and respect which was paid, even by 
ihe old and decrepit, to the holy man in passing along the streets, or when 
he sat in public. They not only rose, which in men so old and infirm was 
a great mark of distinction, but they stood ; they continued to do it, 
though the attempt was so difficult. Lowth. 

14. / clothed myself, ^-c. i. e. I was clothed with righteousness, as 
with a garment without, and it wholly filled me within. I was altogether 



JOB. 251 

righteous within and without. This meaning is made probable by the 
paronomasia of the Hebrew, and also by such expressions as Judges vi. 
84. "The spirit of Jehovah put on Gideon." By altering the vowel 
points so as to change the conjugation from kal to hiphil, one might sustain 
the rendering of the common version. — robe and diadem. A proverb 
still in use among the Arabs is, '* Knowledge is a diadem to a young 
person, and a chain of gold about his neck." Scott , referring to 
Schultens. 

18. — I shall die in my nest. Schultens remarks that the image is 
taken from the eagle, who builds his nest on the summit of a rock. 
Security is the point of resemblance .intended. See ch. xxxix. 27,28; 
Numb. xxiv. 21 ; Obad. ver. 4. 

19. My root is spread, ^c. A tree planted by the rivers of waters, 
and bringing forth its fruit in its season, is a beautiful emblem of pros- 
perity. See Ps. i. 3. The dews, which fall very plentifully in the night, 
contribute greatly to the nourishment of vegetables in those hot climates 
where they have scarcely any rain during the summer. Scott. 

20. My glory is fresh. A flourishing evergreen was the image in the 
preceding verse, and is carried on in this. — And my bow gathers strength 
in my hand. By the state of the weapons commonly used, the Orientals 
express the condition, as to strength or weakness, prosperity or adversity, 
of the person who uses them. See Gen. xlix. 23, 24. The figure is very 
common in Arabic poetry, as may be seen in Schultens' note upon this 
verse. 

22. When my speech dropped down upon them. So Deut. xxxii. 2, 
*' My doctrine shall drop as the rain.*' So Homer speaks of Nestor's 
eloquence, Iliad, I. 249. : 

Fov y.al ano yXdjoatig uiXirog yXvy.[o)V ^Uv av$t]* 
Words, sweet as honey, from his lips distilled. Pope, 
So also Milton, Par. Lost, II. 112. : 

though his tongue 

l)ropt manna, &c. 

23. They waited, ^c. : i. e. They waited for my opinion with the same 
eager desire with which the husbandman doth ihe showers after he hath 
sown his seed ; they gaped for it, as the thirsty earth doth for the latter 
rain to plump the corn. Patrick. Among the Egyptians, the heavens 
pouring down rain or dew was the hieroglyphic of learning and instruc- 
tion. Burder. 

2\. If I smiled upon them, they believed it not. The reverence in 



252 NOTES. 

which I was held was so great, that, if I laid aside my gravity and was 
familiar with them, they could scarcely believe that they were so highly 
honored ; my very smiles were received with awe. — JVor did fhey cause 
the light of my countenance to fall. In the Scriptures to lift up the light 
of the countenance means to show favor. The opposite expression, there- 
fore, to cause the light of the countenance to fall, must mean to provoke 
displeasure by unbecoming behavior ; to bring a cloud upon the counte- 
nance. 

25. When I came among them : lit. / chose their way ; the particle 
Til^ being understood. Or rather it is a common idiom of the Hebrew to 

omit the conditional particle, just as when in English one puts the verb be- 
fore the pronoun. Smiled I upon them, then they believed it not. Came 
I among them, then I sat, SfC. 

Ch. XXX. 1. — younger than L The veneration paid to the aged by 
the Orientals quickened their sensibility with respect to contempt and in- 
dignities offered by the young. 

2. Of what use, ^c. : i. e. If I have a mind to employ them, they are 
so reduced and enfeebled by their wretched condition as to be incapable of 
rendering me service. Old age, ^-c. : i. e. who are so much emaciated by 
famine, as to have no hope or prospect of old age. 

3. — famished: ^^J^hl, primarily, hard; and is applied to a dry, 

stony soil ; and hence it denotes, barren, dry, emaciated, according to the 
connection. It occurs in ch. xv. 84, and Is. xlix. 21. — The darkness of 
desolate wastes: more literally, Darkness, wasting, and desolation; or. 
The night of wasting and desolation. See note on ch. iii. 7. See Merc, 
or Ges. upon t^^DX. 

4. — pur slain. It is most probable that it denotes the plant a /ripZex 
halimus, or sea-orach, or purslain, which Dioscorides describes as a kind 
of bramble without thorns, the leaves of which used to be boiled and 
eaten. It has a saltish taste. H-l^D is a denominative from n /D, salt. 

So we have in English salad, and in French, German, Italian, salade, 
salat, insalata. See Harris's Nat. Hist, of the Bible, p. 285. — the 
broom. This is a plant abounding in the desert and sandy plains of 
Egypt and Arabia. Its root is very bitter. See Kos. 

8. — beaten : i. e. driven out with blows. 

10. — spit before my face. The association between spitting and shame 
is such now in the East that we can scarcely conceive of it. Monsieur 
d'Arvieux tells us, " The Arabs are sometimes disposed to think, that, 
when a person spits, it is done out of contempt ; and they never do it 
before their superiors." Cut Sir J. Chardin's MS. goes much farther. 



JOB. * 253 

He tells us, in a note on Numb. xii. 14, that ** spitting before any one, or 
spitting upon the ground in speaking of any one's actions, is, through the 
East, an expression of extreme detestation." It was probably all that the 
law required in Deut. xxv. 9. "^JDH often denoting before one, in one^s 

presence. See Josh. xxi. 44, xxiii. 9 ; Esth. ix. 2. See Harmer's Observ. 
ch. xi., obs. xcviii. 

11. They let loose the reins, and humble me. They insult and afflict me 
without restraint, and in an unbridled manner. Thus the meaning is the 
same as that of the other clause of the verse. 

12. — the brood. The youth are thus called by way of reproach. They 
cast up against me their destructive ways. The metaphor is drawn from the 
advance of a besieging army against a city. 

13. They break up my path: i. e. They oppose all my plans, and hinder 
me from taking any course for my relief or benefit. — They that have no 
helper 1 Schultens has shown that the phrase, one who has no helper, was 
proverbial amongst the Arabs, and denoted a worthless person, or one of the 
lowest class. It is probably so used here. 

15. They pursue my prosperity: i. e. They come upon me with unrelent- 
ing violence, destroying my peace. The image is borrowed from a person 
buffeted by a violent storm. 

16. — poureth itself out upon me. So in Ps. xlii. 4. In our language we 
say that one is dissolved in grief. The foundation of the metaphor is, that 
in excessive grief the mind loses, as it were, all consistence. The Arabians 
style a fearful person one who has a watery heart, or whose heart melts away 
like water. 

17. — my gnawers : i. e. my gnawing pains. Et qui me comedunt non 
dormiunt. Vulg. 

18. — is my garment changed : i. e. his skin which was affected by the 
leprosy, so that he could scarcely be recognised. Some, however, suppose 
the meaning to be that his outer garment, the mantle, had become close 
like the tunic. Schultens renders it, it (pain) hath become my garment. 
He has shown that it is a common metaphor in Arabic poetry. It agrees 
well with the parallel clause. — like the collar of my tunic. The 
allusion probably is to that kind of Eastern tunic which was seamless, and 
all of a piece, and had an opening at the top, with a sort of collar which 
was ftxstened close around the neck. Corap. Exod. xxviii. 32. 

19. — I am become like, ^c. : i. e. more like a mass of inanimate matter 
than a living man. See ch. ix, 31, and note. 

20. / stand up. Standing being the usual posture of prayer amongst the 
Hebrews, to stand, or stand up, is sometimes used for to pray, as Grotiu3 
remarks in his note on Matt. vi. 5. See Gen. xviii 22; Jer. xv. 1. Scott 



254 * NOTES. 

22. Thou liftest me up, S^c. He represents his miseries under the image 
of a person caught up into the air by a tempest, and driven like stubble, or 
like a cloud, by the wind. — Thou meltest me away : i. e. my strength of body 
and mind. Thou leavest nothing solid or firm in me. Some think this to 
be a continuation of the metaphor in the first clause, referring to a cloud, 
which, having been driven about by the wind, melts away and disappears. 
— in the storm: or more literally, the rattling, or clashing y or noise of the 
tempest. With considerable hesitation I have concluded to adopt this ren- 
dering, proposed by Stuhlmann, in his Translation published in Hamburg, 
1 804, as being on the whole more probable than any of the various mean- 
ings assigned to the Hebrew in ancient or modern versions. It is obtained 
by altering the vowel points so as to read n-1l2''i'3, and regarding this as 

equivalent to nsjK^j^, or nx-lt^n, which is found in the plural in xxxv. 29, 

referring to the noise^ rattling, or clashing of Jehovah's tabernacle, and 
xxxix. 7 referring to the shoutings of the driver, and in Is. xxii. 2 to the 
tumult of a multitude, and in Zech. ix. 7 to shouts of joy. As to the omis- 
sion of the J<, which this rendering supposes, it occurs often in Job. 
See xxii. 29, xxxi. 35, xxxiii. 17, xxxiv. 36, xxxix. 7. A considerable 
number of modern Hebraists, such as Ewald, Heiligstedt, Hirzel, Schlott- 
man, and others have adopted this rendering. If it be liable to objec- 
tions, are not other renderings liable to greater ? The rendering of the 
Common Version — my substance^ or the similar rendering — my safety — 
my strength, ^c. involves the unusual construction, Thou meltest me away 
as to substance or safety, and besides is not in accordance with the preced- 
ing figure. 

24. For a defence of this rendering, see Ros., and Ges. Lex. upon ""j/S. 
It is also adopted by De Wette. 

26. But when I looked, ^c. He expected to be made happy all his life, 
through the divine benediction, on account of his charity and other virtues ; 
but, instead of that, he was made most miserable. 

27. My bowels boil, ^c. These expressions, in their literal meaning, de- 
scribe the violent inward heat caused by his inflammatory disease. They 
may likewise include the ferment of his mind ever since his afflictions came 
upon him. The heart and the reins, in the Oriental figurative style, denote 
the thoughts and passions. Scott. 

29. I am black, but not by the sun. His disease had made his complexion 
as swarthy as that of the poor laborers in the field, who are exposed to the 
scorching sun in that hot climate ; and so sharp were his pains, that he was 
obliged to shriek out, even in a public assembly. 

29. / am become a brother to jackals: i. e. I am like the jackal with 
respect to his mournful cries. Dr. Shaw observes that jackals make a 



JOB. 255 

hideous howling in the night. Dr. Pococke observes, in his note upon 
Micah 1. 8, "The ancient Syriac describes it by a word, which, in that 
language, as their own authors tell us, signifies a kind of wild beast, 
between a dog and a fox, or a wolf and a fox, which the Arabians call, 
from the noise they make, Ebn Mwi, or wawi, and our English travellers 
and other Europeans, by a name borrowed from the people of those 
countries, where they are more known than in Europe, jackales, which, 
abiding in the fields and waste places, make in the night a lamentable 
howling noise, insomuch that travellers, unacquainted with them, would 
think that a company of people, women or children, were bowling one to 
another, as none that have travelled in those parts of Syria, &c., can be 
ignorant. This translation seems to carry more reason with it than the 
rendering it dragons; because of the hissing of dragons, as of other 
serpents, we hear and read, but nowhere in any creditable author of their 
howling, or making such a noise as may be called wailing, or like to it." 
See also ?n in Ges. Lex., and Harris's Nat. Hist. p. 118. — And a com- 

panion to ostriches. Companion is used like brother in the preceding line, 
to denote resemblance. See Ges. upon nJJ^''- *' During the lonesome part 

of the night," says Dr. Shaw, *' they (the ostriches) make very doleful and 
hideous noises ; which would sometimes be like the roaring of a lion ; at 
other times it would bear a nearer resemblance to the hoarser voice of 
other quadrupeds, particularly of the bull and the ox. I have often heard 
them groan as if they were in the greatest agonies." Shaw's Travels, 
Vol. n. p. 348. 8vo. 

30. — is black, and falleth from me : lit. is black from upon me. 
Construct. Praeg. 

31. My harp, SfC. These were probably proverbial expressions, 
denoting a change from happiness to misery. 

Ch. XXXt. The apology of Job in this chapter, says Mr. Scott, which 
turns chiefly on his behavior in private life, is not the effusion of vanity 
and self-applause. It is, in regard to his antagonists, necessary self- 
defence and solid refutation. Yet I think, from its connection with the 
foregoing account of his sufferings, and from verses 35-37, his favorite 
design evidently is to show that God had multiplied his wounds withou/t 
cause. In this view he is chargeable with justifying himself more than 
God ; that is, with making his own cause to be more just than that of 
Providence. If we except this fault, however, the picture which he has 
drawn is a masterly piece of moral painting. Nothing can be more 
finished and amiable than the character here represented. It is an 
exemplification of the most disinterested virtue, inspired and ennobled by 



256 NOTES. 

the most rational and exalted piety. In short, this apology may be justly 
styled a fine epitome of morality and religion. 
1. How theriy ^c. : or, That I would not, SfC, 

6. Let him, weigh me, ^-c. Some suppose this verse to be parenthetical, 
and that the imprecation in verse 8 relates to verse 5, as well as to verse 
7. Others, that this verse includes a tacit imprecation : Let him, weigh 
me, ^c, and if I am found guilty. May he do so to me, and more also ! 

7. — from the way : i. e. of rectitude. — Or if any stain : i. e. any 
unjust gain. If I have taken the property of others by fraud or violence. 
The Sept. renders the clause. If I have touched gifts with my hands: i. e. 
taken bribes. 

9. — a woman, A woman here means a married woman. It stands 
opposed to a maid in verse 1, and is rendered wife in ver. 10. — watched^ 
4-c., to see when the husband was absent, and when there was an oppor- 
tunity for committing adultery. 

10. Then let my wife grind for another : i.e. let her be hia abject 
slave. The ancients ground their corn with hand-mills. This was the 
work of female servants. See Ex. xi. 5 ; Is. xlvii. 2 ; Matt. xxiv. 41. 

12. Yea, it were afire, ^c. The commission of such a crime would 
have provoked God to send destruction, like a consuming fire, upon my 
family and estate. See Ps. Ixxxiii. 14. 

14. — riseth up : i. e. as a judge, lo inquire into and punish the sins of 
men. 

16. Or caused the eyes of the widow lo fail : i. e. If I refused her the 
relief which she implored of me with earnest eyes. 

17. Have I eaten my morsel alone 7 *' No sooner was our food pre- 
pared, whether it was potted flesh, boiled with rice, a lentil soup, the red 
pottage, Gen. xxv. 30, or unleavened cakes, served up with oil or honey, 
than one of the Arabs, after having placed himself on the highest spot of 
ground in the neighborhood, calls out thrice with a loud voice to all their 
brethren, the sons of the faithful, to come and partake of it, though none 
of them were in view, or perhaps within a hundred miles of them." 
Shawns Travels, Vol. I. p. xx. Burckhardt informs us that in Kerek, a 
city in Arabia, ** when a stranger enters the town, the people almost come 
to blows with one another, in their eagerness to have him for their guest ; 
and there are Turks who every other day kill a goat for this hospitable 
purpose." 

18. — helped the widow : lit. assisted her, the antecedent being in verse 
16. 

21. Because I saw my hdp in the gate: i.e. When, on account of 
my influence in the courts of justice, I could commit any act of injustice 
with impunity. 

22. And my fore-arm, ^c. There i» a striking grandeur in this im- 



JOB. 257 

precation on the arm that was lifted up to threaten ah orphan in a court 
of justice. Scott. — from its bone : i. e. from the upper arm, to which it 
was appended. 

26. If I have beheld, 4 ^- See Deut. iv. 19. Sabaism, or the worship 
of the heavenly bodies, was doubtless the most ancient species of idolatry. 
The Arabs went early into it. They adored the sun and moon, the planets, 
and the fixed stars. See Encyclop. Amer.Art. Sabaism. 

27. ^ad my mouth have kissed my hand. Kissing the idol was an act 
of religious homage. The Mahometans, at the present day, in their 
worship at Mecca, kiss the black stone, which is fastened in the corner of 
the Beat- Allah, as often as they pass by it, in their rapid walks round that 
Bacred building. If they cannot come near enough to kiss it, they touch 
it with their hand, and kiss that. This seems to be a remnant of the 
ancient idolatry, though not practised as such by them. The heavenly 
bodies, being at too great a distance for a salute of the mouth, their wor- 
shippers substituted kissing their own hands in place of that ceremony. 
Scott. Minutius Felix (De Sacrif., cap. 2, ad fin.) remarks, that, when 
Caecilius observed the statue of Serapis, *' according to the custom of the 
superstitious vulgar, he moved his hand to his mouth, and kissed it with 
his lips. * ' 

82. The stranger y ^c. See note on ver. 17. 

33. — after the manner of men. See Is. viii. 1 ; Ps. Ixxxii. 7. Other- 
wise, Have I, like Adam, hidden my transgressions. 

34. I have followed Schultens, Dathe, and Scott, in rendering this 
verse in the imprecatory form. Some confine the imprecation to the last 
line of the verse. 

35 - 37. Job here renews the wish, which he had expressed in ch. xvii, 
8, and elsewhere, that God would enter into judgment with him. He is 
convinced that the result of a trial would be honorable to him. *' Bolder 
words than these Job had not uttered in the whole dispute. These pro- 
voked Elihu to renew the debate, and these are the expressions for which 
the Almighty chiefly reprimanded him, in ch. xl. 2, 8, taking little or no 
notice of the rest." Michaelis. 

35. — signature, '\r\. This is the name of the Hebrew letter n, which 

has the form of a cross in the Phoenician Alphabet, and on the coins of 
the Maccabees. See in Stuart's Grammar the Hebrew coin-letter. This 
mark, or cross, was used, probably, to denote the name of the person who 
used it, when he was unable to write his name. Hence it denotes a sub- 
scription to a writing of complaint or defence, or, by metonymy, the 
writing itself, as in this passage. I should understand it here a bill of 
defence, rather than of complaint, as Ges. explains it. Job hardly goes 
BO far as to offer to bring a bill of complaint against God. It is more 
probable that he offers a bill of defence, and invitea the Deity to answer 



258 NOTES. 

him, i. e. to refute what he has said in his defence, if he can, and to bring 
what charges he can against him. — ind let mine adversary ^ ^c. : i. e. 
Let the Almighty, as adversary or opponent in court, charge me with any 
sins on account of which I suffer my extraordinary afflictions. 

36. Truly I would wear it upon my shoulder^ ^c. : i. e. Instead of 
being ashamed of it, or endeavoring to conceal it, I would wear it as an 
ornament about my person. I would glory in it, as affording me the long 
desired opportunity of vindicating my character. 

37. — aU my steps : i. e. the whole course of my life. — I would ap- 
proacli him like a prince : i. e. with confidence and cheerfulness, as being 
conscious of innocence, and not as a self-condemned malefactor, as I am 
regarded by my friends. 

38 - 40. It is not improbable that these verses have accidentally been 
transferred from their original place in the chapter, and that the speech 
of Job ended with verse 37. The natural place for the passage, according 
to modern ideas of arrangement, would be after verse 23 or 25. 

38. — cry out against me : i. e. to God for vengeance, because I have 
obtained it from its rightful owners by fraud or violence. See Gen. iv. 10; 
Hab. ii. 11. — bewail together : i. e. of my injustice in keeping the land 
dishonestly acquired. 

89. — without payment : i. e. without paying the price which I promised 
to give the owner of the land. Or, without paying the laborers their 
wages. — And wrung out the life of its owners : Literally, caused the life 
of the owners to breathe forth: i. e. by depriving them of their land; 
drained their life-blood, as we should say. The common version gives the 
literal meaning of the words. But the expression is probably hyperbolical, 
meaning to inflict great distress. 

40. — noxious weeds : nti^5<3» from li^J<3, to have a bad smelL So the 

» • r ■• 

Chald. 



XXI. 



With chapter thirty-second commences a new division of the poem, the 
design of which seems to be to prepare the way for the appearance of the 
Deity in the latter part of it. A. new speaker is introduced, of whose 
extraction, and of whose motives for renewing the debate, an account is 
given in the first five verses. In the last chapter Job had triumphantly 
closed his defence against the accusations of his friends, and they are 



JOB. 259 

now represented as renouncing the discussion with him, " because he 
was righteous in his own eyes ; ' ' that is, because he contended that he 
had been guilty of no wickedness which could call down upon him the 
heavy vengeance of God. Elihu now steps forward, as a sort of mediator, 
or arbiter in the controversy. He expresses his dissatisfaction with 
both parties ; with Job, ** because he had pronounced himself righteous, 
rather than God," that is, because he had defended so vehemently the 
justice of his own cause, that he seemed in some measure to arraign the 
justice of God ; and with the three friends ^* because they had not found 
an answer, and yet had condemned Job; " that is, they had concluded, in 
their own minds, that Job was impious and wicked, although they had 
nothing specific to object against his assertions of his own innocence, or 
upon which they might safely ground their accusation. 

Elihu professes, after a slight prefatory mention of himself, to reason 
with Job, unbiassed either by favor or resentment. He therefore reproves 
Job from his own mouth, because he had attributed too much to himself ; 
because he had insisted too strongly upon his freedom from guilt and de- 
pravity; because he had presumed to contend with God, and had not 
scrupled to insinuate that the Deity was hostile to him. He asserts that it 
is not necessary for God to explain and develop his counsels to men; that 
he takes many occasions of admonishing them, not only by visions and 
revelations, but also by the visitations of his providence, by sending 
calamities and diseases upon them, in order to repress their arrogance, and 
turn them from those evil purposes which would end in their ruin. He 
seems to regard afflictions, not as punishment for past offences, nor as 
evidence of a guilty character; but rather as preventives of those sins 
which the best men sometimes commit, and as salutary discipline for the 
correction of those faults of which a man may be unconscious, until his 
attention is awakened by adversity. Ch. xxxiii. He next rebukes Job, 
because he had pronounced himself innocent, and affirmed that God had 
acted inimically, if not unjustly, towards him. He brings forward various 
considerations to show that the Governor of the world can do nothing in- 
consistent with justice and benevolence. From these considerations he 
infers the duty of a man in Job's situation. Ch. xxxiv. He then objects 
to Job, that, from the miseries of the good and the prosperity of the 
wicked, he has falsely and perversely concluded that there is no advantage 
to be derived from the practice of virtue. On the contrary, he affirms, 
that, when the afflictions of the just continue, it is because they do not 
place a proper confidence in God, ask relief at his hands, patiently expect 
it, nor demean themselves before him with becoming humility and sub- 
mission. This observation alone, he adds very properly, (xxxv. 4,) is at 
once a sufficient reproof of the contumacy of Job, and a full refutation of 
the unjust suspicions of his friends. Ch. xxxv. Lastly, he explains the 



260 NOTES. 

purposes of the Deity in chastening men, which are, in general, to prove 
and amend them, to repress their arrogance, to afford him an opportunity 
of exemplifying his justice upon the obstinate and rebellious, and of show- 
ing favor to the humble and obedient. He supposes God to have acted in 
this manner towards Job; on this account he exhorts him to humble him- 
self before his righteous Judge, to beware of appearing obstinate or con- 
tumacious in his sight, and of relapsing into a repetition of his sin. He 
entreats him, from the contemplation of the divine power and majesty, to 
endeavor to retain a proper reverence for the Almighty, and to submit to 
his mysterious allotments. Ch. xxxvi., xxxvii. To these frequently in- 
termitted and often repeated admonitions of Elihu, Job makes no reply. 
Lowth, Bouillier observes that Elihu did not hit upon the precise cause 
of Job's afflictions, though he gave a more rational conjecture than the 
three friends of Job. Thus one purpose of the poet is answered, viz. that 
of showing, that it is better to submit to the wisdom of Providence than 
curiously to pry into it 

Ch. XXXn. 2. Then was kindled the wrath. These expressions do 
not mean that he was in a passion. They are the strong Oriental manner 
of denoting high disapprobation. At most, they signify no more than a 
becoming warmth. Scott, — Elihu . , , the Buzite, We know nothing 
more of Elihu than is here mentioned. Buz was the second son of Nahor, 
the brother of Abraham; and the city of this name, probably derived 
from the same family, is mentioned in Jer. xxv. 23, in conjunction with 
Dedan, which we know to have been in Idumaea. Good. 

4. — till Job had spoken : Supply, and his three friends. 

8. — the spirit in man. By supposing rw*) to mean Me divine spirit ^ 

so as to be synonymous with the inspiration of the Almighty, in the other 
clause of the verse, the parallelism is preserved, and a sense well suited 
to the connection afforded. Having said, in the preceding verse, that he 
had expected to find wisdom in age and in experience, he now intimates 
that he is disappointed; that he finds that wisdom is not the attribute of 
age or station ; that it is the gift of God ; and that what is denied to the 
great and the aged may be found in a youth. The expressions, the 
spirit, and the inspiration of the Almighty, may denote the divine gift ot 
natural genius and endowments, or extraordinary illumination from the 
Father of lights. The connection seems to be in favor of the latter sense 
here. The ancients used to ascribe all extraordinary endowments to divine 
assistance. Thus m Homer, a person is wise by the assistance of Minerva, 
&c. Milton has a similar sentiment in the preface to the Reason of Church 
Government, urged against Prelaiy : " And if any man think I under- 
take a task too difficult for my years, I trust, through the supreme en- 



JOB. 261 

lightening assistance, far otherwise ; for my years, be they few or many, 
what imports it? So they bring reason, let that be looked on." Some 
render the verse thus : 

There is, indeed, a spirit in man ; 

But it is the inspiration of the Almighty that giveth understanding. 

13. God must conquer him, not man : i. e. Do not excuse your ceasing 
to reply, by alleging that the wisest course which can be taken with Job 
is to leave him to be humbled by God, as being too obstinate to be re 
claimed by man. So Scott, though not with the best taste, 

Say not, " 'T is wisdom that we leave to God 
To humble this stiff sinner with his rod ! " 

Otherwise, God hath thrust him down, not man : i. e. Say not that ye have 
gone to the root of the matter, and proposed an unanswerable argument 
against Job, and proved him to be a bad man, by the assertion that his 
misery is inflicted by a just God. So Merc. 

14. And with speeches like yours will I not answer him. Their 
speeches were levelled against his whole moral character, aiming to pro^e 
him a wicked man from the similarity of his sufferings to those of noto- 
riously wicked men. Elihu takes another course. He limits his censure 
to Job's answers in this dispute. He fixes upon some of the most obnox- 
ious passages, such as seemed to betray too high conceit of his own virtue, 
want of respect to God, and dishonorable sentiments of Providence, and 
takes occasion from these passages to vindicate the divine goodness, equity, 
and justice. Scott. 

15. They were confounded ! ^-c. Elihu here ridicules the friends of 
Job, because they were unable to answer him. Some suppose that Elihu 
here addresses an audience who were listening to the discussion, and de- 
sires them to observe the confusion of the three friends. There is no 
objection to this explanation, except that it is unnecessary. For the third 
p3rson is often used for the first or second in Hebrew poetry, and particu- 
larly when censure or contempt is expressed. See ch. xiii. 28, xviii. 
4, xli. 9. 

18. The spirit within : i. e. My soul, which is full of ardor, and 
powerfully impelled to make known my views. 

19. Like bottles of new wine : literally, new bottles. These bottles, 
being made of skin, were liable to burst, when they had become old, and 
were filled with new wine. See Mat. ix. 17. 

21. I will not be partial, ^c. : i. e. I will deliver my sentiments with 
freedom and impartiality. 

22. — take me away : i. e. destroy me. 



262 NOTES. 



Ch. XXXni. 3. — knowledge purely : This may mean tliat he utter? 
what he knows sincerely, or that he gives a true view of the subject. 

4. The spirit of God made me^ ^c, : i. e. I am thy fellow-creature, de- 
pendent like thee upon God, and therefore fit to discourse with thee upon 
equal terms. 

6. Behold, /, like thee, am a creature of God. Lit. I, like thee, am 
by God, i. e. created by God. This meaning accords with that of the 
parallel clause. He intimates that Job might engage him upon equal 
terms, having nothing to fear but the strength of his arguments. 

7. Behold, my terror, Sfc. : i. e. You are in no danger of being con- 
founded by the terror of my appearance, or of being borne down by the 
weight of my authority. In order to see the force of this declaration, we 
must call to mind the bold challenge of Job in ch. ix. 34, 35, xiii. 20 - 22. 

9. lam pure, and without transgression. Job had not used these 
very expressions, but he had used others equivalent to them, in ch. ix. 
30, X. 7, xiii. 23, xvi. 17. 

10. Behold, he seeketh causes of hostility against me, ^c. See Ges. 
upon nJ^OHj and Ros. He refers to the language of Job in ch, xiii, 24, 

T : 

25, xiv. 16, 17,xix. 11. 

11. He putteth my feet, SfC. See ch. xiii. 27. 

12. Behold, in this thou art not right : i. e. Your language to the 
Deity is wholly inexcusable. It is inconsistent with the reverence which 
is due to so great a Being. — God is greater than man. *' This is one 
of those expressions which imply much more than is expressed. There is 
a kind of ironical castigation in it. As if he had said, ** You talk to God 
as an equal ; but methinks he is somewhat superior to us." Scott. 

13. Why dost thou, ^c. To convince Job how culpable his behavior 
is, Elihu argues that it is irreverent and fruitless. God, says he, will 
never stoop to defend his measures against murmurers, nor will he com- 
municate the reasons of them to those who cavil at his dispensations. 
ScoU. 

14. For God speakeih, ^c. He alleges another argument against 
striving with God. There is no just cause for it. God has sufficiently 
manifested his goodness and care of mankmd, by the methods which he 
takes to show them their duty, to recover them from their wanderings, 
and thereby to save them from destruction. Scott. 

16. — sealeth up, ^c. : i. e. secretly admonishes them. 

17. And hide pride from man. Pride may comprehend insolence 
towards God and towards man. But I apprehend that Elihu had his eye 
on the former ; and that he glances at Job's too high opinion of his own 
rectitude and merit, which gave rise to his complaints against God. 
Scott. 



JOB. 263 

18, 22. — his life — his soul. These words denote tlie person himself, 
and are equivalent to the personal pronoun he. See Stuart's Gram. § 186. 

22. — the destroyers : i. e. angels of death, or the instruments or causes 
of death generally. 

23. — a messenger, an interpreter : yho !T^Sd. Some render these 

words a mediating angel, so called from being the medium of communica- 
tion between God and man. As Satan is represented as going round the 
earth, and accusing the pious before God, it is said to be natural that 
good angels should be employed on errands of mercy. This may be the 
true meaning. But as a prophet or religious teacher is often called by 
this name, (see Eccl. y. 6 ; Uag. i. 13 ; Mai. ii. 7,) and is the usual per- 
son employed for the instruction of men, it is most probable that such a 
person is denoted here. Elihu may refer to himself, and to the office 
which he was then performing towards Job. Throughout his speech he is 
represented as thinking very hig:hly of himself, and I am persuaded that 
he was thinking of himself here. — an interpreter : i. e. a teacher, one 
who makes known the will of God. — one of a thousand : i.e. a rare 
person, one well qualified to be a religious monitor. See Eccl. vii. 28. 
— his duty : i. e. what reason and religion require of a man in his situa- 
tion ; repentance, submission, and prayer to God for pardon. In Cran- 
mer's Bible, to show him the right way. The instruction is supposed to 
be etfectual, as appears from the following verses. 

24. — and say. Save him : i. e. he shall be saved. — / have found a 
ransom : i. e. I am satisfied with his repentance ; he has been sufficiently 
humbled by his afflictions. Whatever is a means of averting punishment, 
or of procuring deliverance from evil, and conciliating the divine favor, is 
termed in Scripture a ransom, or atonement. The intercession of Moses 
and#he act of Phineas are so called, and here the sick man's repentance. 
See Ex. xxxii. 30; Numb. xxv. 13. So Ecclesiasticus xxxv. 3, **To 
depart from wickedness is a thing pleasing to the Lord ; and to forsake 
unrighteousness is a propitiation " (fi^Aurri/oc). 

26. — to see his face, ^c. : i. e to enjoy his favor. The expression is 
borrowed from Oriental ideas respecting kings and great men ; to be 
admitted into whose presence, or to see whose faces, was esteemed a mark 
of favor a privilege. — And restore unto man his innocence : i. e. regard 
and treat him as innocent. 

27. He shall sing. See Ges. upon "^^^i;. 

29. 2ime after time : lit. Twice and thrice. The Sept. renders i*, 
6(^uvc rofrc, three ways, referring to three ways in which men are said 1o 
be admonished, viz. by dreams, ver. 15, by sickness, ver. 19, and by a 
religious teacher, ver. 23. ^ 



264 NOTES. 

Ch. XXXI V. 6. — / am made a liar ; i e. I am regarded as a "wicked 
man on account of my misery, notwithstanding my innocence. See ch. 
xvi. 8. — My wound, SfC. See ch. ix. 17. 

8. Who goeth in company, ^c, : i. e. Who speaks like the wicked 
men, who call Providence in question. 

** Marmoreo tumulo Licinus jacet, at Cato nullo ; 
Pompeius parvo. Quis putet esse Deos ? *' 

9. A man hath no advantage^ ^c. Job had not used this language > 
but in ch. ix. 22, and ch. xxi., he had expressed nearly the same senti- 
ment. 

13. Who hath given him the charge, ^c. Elihu's first argument, to 
prove that God cannot be unjust, is taken from his independence. Were 
God a subordinate governor, he might be tempted to commit injuries, to 
gratify the avarice or resentment of his superior. Scott. 

14. Should he set his heart against man : i. e. Should he deal severely 
with him. His second argument is from the divine benevolence. If God 
were unjust, revengeful, and cruel, the earth would be a dreadful scene 
of universal desolation. So in Wisdom of Sol. xi. 24-26, ** For thou 
lovest all things that are, and abhorrest nothing which thou hast made ; 
for never wouldst thou have made anything, if thou hadst hated it. And 
how could anything have endured, if it had not been thy will ; or been 
preserved, if not called by thee ? But thou sparest all; for they are thine, 

"0 Lord, thou lover of souls ! " Others render the line, If he had regard 
for himself alone. 

17. Shall he, that hateth justice, govern ? The argument is similar to 
that of Abraham, " Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ? " Gen. 
xvii, 25. If God were unjust, there would be nothing but disorder and 
confusion in the world. 

19. How much less, ^c. So Wisdom of Sol vi. 7,8, *' For he who is 
Lord over all shall fear no man's person, neither shall he stand in awe of 
any man's greatness ; for he hath made the small and great, and careth 
for all alike. But a sore trial shall come upon the mighty." 

20. — yea, at midnight, ^c. The allusion seems to be to some capital 
city overthrown by an earthquake. — and pass away : i. e. into the grave. 
— without hand : i. e. by no human hand ; by the invisible power of God. 
See Lam. iv 6 ; Dan. ii. 34. 

23. He needeth not attend long to a man : lit. He doth not fix his 

miiid long upon a man; )2i being understood after D"'ti^^ So Ges., 

• ▼ 

Dathe, and Ros. The circumstance is mentioned to illustrate the omni- 
science of God, and the suddenness with which he often inflicts punish- 
ment, J&e, in whose sight all things are naked and open, has no need of 



JOB. 265 

a long and formal examination into a man's character before he proceeds 
to punish him. 

24. — without inquiry : i. e. without judicial investigation, such as must 
be resorted to by men. 

26. In the presence, ^c. : lit. In the place of spectators. 

28. .^nd caused, ^c. Others render, So that he ( God) caused the cry 
of the poor to come. upo7i them, 

29. ,^nd when he hideth his face, who can behold him ? i. e. When he 
■withdraws his favor, who can expect or obtain help from him ? 

31, 82. It is observed by Scott that the petition and confession, which 
Elihu recommends to Job, would be highly improper for one who knows 
himself to be guilty of heinous crimes, but highly fit for a person who, 
though good in the main, has reason to suspect somewhat amiss in his 
temper and conduct, for which Grod is displeased with him. It appears 
plainly that Elihu did not suppose Job to be a wicked man, suffering for 
his oppressions, bribery, inhumanity, and impiety, with which his three 
friends had charged him. 

33. — and not he: lit. and not I; by Mimesis, See Glass, p. 315; 
Stuart's Gram. § 212 ; ch. xviii. 4; xxxv. 3. 

36. — i. e. that he may not cease to be tried with afflictions, until he la 
humble or penitent. 

Ch. XXXV. 2. / am more righteous than God. Job had not used 
these words ; but this was the amount of his complaints against God, and 
his justification of himself. See ch. ix. 30-35, x. 15. 

3. He had already brought the charge contained in this verse, in ch. 
xxxiv. 9. But there he censured the complaint of Job, as an arraign- 
ment of the justice of God. Here it is considered as implying that God 
was under obligation to him. The charge is, that Job had in effect said : 
I have been more just to God than he hath been to me. I have discharged 
my duty to him, but have not met with a proper return from him. My 
innocence hath been of no advantage to me. Elihu replies, first, that so 
great a Being cannot possibly be hurt by the sins, or benefited by the 
services, of men; and, secondly, that our vice and virtue can harm or 
profit our fellow-mortals only. Scott, 

4. — thy companions : i. e. those who entertain the same unworthy 
sentiments of God and his providence. 

5. Look up to the heavens, ^c. This is a sublime sentiment in a plain 
dress. One view, says he, of the magnificent scenery of the lofty sky will 
extinguish all low conceptions of its almighty Author. It will strike the 
mind with a vast idea of his infinite superiority to all other beings, and of 
the impossibility of his gaining or suffering by the good or bad behavior 
of bis reasonable creatures. Scott, 

12 



266 NOTES. 

9. The oppressed cry out, S^c, He now passes to another topic, viz. 
Job's complaint of God's disregard of the numerous oppressions committed 
in the world, the authors of which he suffers to escape with impunity. 
Elihii replies, that when God avenges not the oppressed it is owing to their 
want of piety. He neglects them, because they neglect him. They mur- 
mur, bat they do not pray. They are clamorous, but they are not humble. 
This seems an oblique hint to Job that the continuation of his sufferings 
was owing to his unsubmitting behavior. Scott, 

10. Who giveth songs in the night. Songs are thanksgivings to God 
for deliverance. The term night metaphorically denotes affliction, as in 
ch. xxxiv. 25. 

14. Much less : i. e. shalt thou be heard. He alludes to the complaints 
of Job in ch. xxiii. 8, &c. — Justice is with him, ^c, : i. e. Although 
thou complainest that God does not appear to thee for thy deliverance, yet 
be assured that thy cause is known to him, and that thou shalt receive 
justice from him, if thou wilt only commit thyself to him. 

15. transgressions. See Ges. upon ;^i3. 7iaQur/.rt'\ua, Sept. and Theodo- 

tion ; TiaQanrojuaTUy Symmachus ; scelus, Vulg. Dr. Durell thinks 
l^r33 to be a corruption for ^♦^•D^. Some suppose that he refers to the 

transgressions of Job by this expression, particularly to his irreverent 
speeches, &c. Others, that he refers to the transgressions of the wicked, 
which Job had asserted to be committed with impunity. 

Ch. XXXVL 3. / will bring my knowledge from afar : i. e. from 
remote times, places, and things. I will not confine my discourse to thy 
particular case, but will justify God by declaring his great and glorious 
works of creation and providence, both in heaven and earth, and his 
manner of dealing with men in other parts and ages of the world. Poole. 

4. A man of sound knowledge, Elihu refers to himself, and means 
that be is unbiassed by prejudice, and will not seek to baffle Job by 
sophistical arguments. 

6. — but despiseth not any. He may refer to Job's expressions in ch. 
X. 3, &c. 

12. — the sword : i. e. the sword of divine justice. 

13. — treasure up wrath. This may mean that they retain anger, or 
persevere in the exercise of angry feelings, or that they treasure up the 
wrath of God against them. See Rom. ii. 5. — when he bindeth them : 
i. e. bringeth affliction upon them. See verse 8. 

14. with the unclean. D'li^lpS. See Ges. ad verb. 

20. — that niyht : \. e. the night of death. He warns him against 
impatient wishes for death, and murmuring against God. 

21. But let thy sufferings teach thee caution, and make thee afraid to 



JOB. 267 

go on to provoke offended justice ; for thou hast done it too much already, 
in choosing rather to accuse divine Providence than to submit patiently to 
his chastisements. Patrick. 

22. Who is a teacher like him ? rig yao ian xar" avrbv ^vvuarrig ; 
Sept. Et nullus ei similis in legislator ibus, Vulg. The object of the 
remaining portion of Elihu's discourse appears to be to convince Job of 
his ignorance of the ways of Providence, by his ignorance of the works of 
creation, and to humble bim for finding fault with what he did not and 
could not understand. 

24. — his work: i. e. that which he does in the natural world, accord- 
ing to the following description. — celebrate with songs. '{'D\l^. See ch. 

xxxiii. ; 27. de quo cecinerunt viri. Vulg. quod laudaverunt viri justi, 
Chald. See Schult. and Ges. 

27. — draweth up the drops of water : i. e. by means of the sun, which 
changes water into vapor, and causes it to ascend into the air. — Which 
distil rain : i. e. These minute particles of water, drawn up by the sun 
in the form of vapor, /or m, or, more literally, pour out, rain. 

29. And the rattling of his pavilion : i. e. the thunder. By his 
'pavilion, or tabernaclp, the clouds are intended. See Ps. xviii. 1 1. 

30. — his light. See Ps. civ. 2. — And he cloiheth himself with the 
depths of the sea : i. e. which he draws up to heaven, and forms into the 
dark clouds which are his habitation. V^j; is to be supplied from the pre- 

T T 

ceding line. Comp. ver. 32. Otherwise, And he covereth the bottom of 
the sea : i. e. with darkness. The power of God in the highest and the 
lowest regions is denoted. 

31. By these: i. e. the clouds, rain, ^:c. 

33. His thunder, ^c. Lit. His noise maketh known concerning 
him. Yea, to the herds concerning him, who ascendeth on high. i. e. 
the thunder proclaims God even to the herds as he ascends in the tempest 
This rendering adopted by Ges., Hitzig, and De Wette, seems closer to th 
original than any previous one. Though not entirely satisfactory, i 
may be accepted as the most probable. 

Ch. XXXVIL 1. At this, i. e. the thunder, lightning, &c., of which 
he was speaking. 

2. Hear, ^-c. Some suppose, that, while Elihu was speaking, thunder 
is represented as being heard, and the tempest as begun, from which the 
Deity was about to address Job. 

4. And resfraineth it not : i. e. The lightning. 

7. He sealeih up, ^c. : i e. The labors of the field are interrupted in 
consequence of these heavy and continual rains, and the husbandmen 
remain at home, with their hands, as it were, in their bosom. — men whom 



268 NOTES. 

he hath made : lit. meri of his work. — may ackniwledge him ; or may 
have knowledge ; viz. of their dependence upon the mighty power of God ; 
or, that it is he who commands the snow, &c. 

9. — the South : lit. the secret chamber. See ix. 9. 

10. — breath of God. The air seems to have been regarded as put in 
motion by the breath of God, and hence this appellation is given to the 
wind, here a cold wind. When the ice is formed, the water is regarded as 
contracted ; or what remains of it is brought into a narrower compass. 
But some regard the parallelism of this verse as antithetical, and suppose 
the meaning to be that the breath of God forms ice by cold winds, and 
dries up the waters by hot winds, like the Simoon. 

12. They move about : i. e. The clouds, rain, lightning, &c. 

13. Or for the land: i. e what is necessary, in the course of nature, 
for fertilizing the earth. 

16. — the balancing of the clouds : i. e. how the clouds are suspended 
in the air in such a variety of forms, and are not borne to the ground by the 
weight of water which they contain. From our ignorance of the works of 
nature, Elihu infers our incapacity of judging of the divine counsels. The 
same kind of reasoning is pursued in the Essay on Man : 

Presumptuous man ! the reason wouldst thou find. 
Why formed so weak, so little, and so blind? 
Ask of thy mother earth, why oaks were made 
Taller or stronger than the weeds they shade ; 
Or ask of yonder argent fields above, 
Why Jove's satellites are less than Jove. 

18. — firm like a molten mirror. It must be recollected that mirrors 
in ancient times were made of metal highly polished. It may be asked, 
what conception the author of Job entertained respecting the sky, which 
led him to describe it as firm like a molten mirror. It has been thought 
that in the book of Genesis the firmament, or blue vault of heaven, is 
represented as a solid surface, in which the stars are fixed at equal dis- 
tances from the earth. The chief support of that opinion is, I think, to be 
derived not so much from the Hebrew term itself, as from the circum- 
etance that a body of waters, like a sea or ocean, seems to be represented 
as resting upon the firmament, which God made. Comp. Ps. cxlviii. 4. 
The Hebrew tQvm ^^T^'^, firmament, may denote a solid body, as it were, 

hammered out, or, secondarily, any substance spread out. See Ges. Lex. 
ad verb. 

19. Teach us, ^c. This seems to be addressed to Job ironically, by 
way of reproof for his presumption ; as if he had said, We should like to 
learn from you, you are so well acquainted with the character and pur- 



JOB. 269 

poses of God, in what manner we should address him or discourse with 
him. — darkness : i. e. the darkness of our minds, or of the subject, 
or both. 

20. If I should speak, ^c. : i. e. Will any one venture to repeat to him 
my discourses, if I undertake to complain of the ways -of Providence 1 If 
any one should carry my complaints to his ear, he would certainly be de- 
stroyed for his rashness. 

21. If the splendor of the firmament, illuminated by the sun, is to'o 
bright for man to behold, how can he endure the glorious majesty of its 
Author 1 

22. From the NoHh cometh gold. This is the literal rendering ; and, 
as the ancients regarded the regions of the North as the peculiar place for 
gold, Herod. III. 116, Plin. Nat. Hist. 6, 11,33, 4, we need not seek a 
figurative sense, however well such a sense might meet the connection. 
It is rather harsh to use gold to denote golden brightness: harsher still to 
make the North denote the Northern hemisphere, or sky. The jdea is 
that men can find out where gold is even in the most distant regions, and 
procure it; but cannot comprehend God, or endure his majesty. Comp. 
ch. xxviii. 

23. The Almighty, ^c. This sentiment seems to be the conclusion of 
the whole discourse in vindication of God. We know but very little of his 
nature and designs, and it is wrong to censure what we do not understand 
in his dispensations; especially, since we have abundant proof of his jus- 
tice and goodness. — he doth not oppress: otherwise, he giveth no account 
of his doings, ^c. Instead of HiJ^^ some ancient and valuable manuscripts 

read ^JI^^ See xxxiii. 13. 

24. Upon none of the wise in heart will he look: i. e. who confide too much 
in their wisdom. I prefer the present rendering of this ambiguous line, 
because it better suits the parallelism. Otherwise, Whom none of the wise 
in heart can behold: i. e. they cannot endure the brightness of his majesty. 
See Ros. ad loc. 



XXII. 

Whilst Elihu was yet speaking, Jehovah himself is represented as in- 
terposing, and addressing Job from the midst of a tempest. He does not, 
towever, at first, address him in the language of encouragement and ap- 
probation, which eJob's consciousness of integrity had led him to anticipate. 
Job had defended a good cause in an improper manner. The design of 
this discourse of the Almighty is, therefore, to reprove his complaints re* 



270 NOTES. 

specting the ways of Providence ; to bring him into a proper temper of 
mind, and thus to prepare the way for his final vindication. Jehovah 
docs not condescend to explain or vindicate the ways of his providence, 
but aims to convince Job of his inability to judge of them. He requires 
him, who had spoken so rashly of the divine counsels, to give an explana- 
tion of some of the works of nature which are constantly presented to his 
view ; of the nature and structure of the earth, the sea, the light, and the 
animal kingdom. If he were unable to explain any one of the most com- 
mon phenomena of nature, it followed that he was guilty of great presump- 
tion in finding fault with the secret counsels and moral government of God. 
He then pauses for an answer from Job. 

Ch. XXXVIII. 2. — that darkeneth counsel: viz. my counsels or pur- 
poses, i. e. speaketh of them in an obscure, erroneous, and improper man- 
ner. Gesenius supposes that to darken is a metaphorical expression for to 
censure. 

7. When the morning-stars, Sfc, It was the custom to celebrate the 
laying of the corner-stone of an important building with music, songs, 
shouting, &c. See Zech. iv. 7; Ezra iii. 10, 11. Hence the morning-stars 
are represented as celebrating the laying of the corner-stone of the earth. 
They are called moi^ning-stan's on account of the greater brightness which 
they have just before the dawn. Some suppose that morning-stars denote 
angels, and that the expression has the same meaning as sons of God in the 
next line. 

1 2. Hast thou, in thy life, given charge to the morning, ^c. The transition 
from the sea to the morning is not so abrupt as it appears. For the an- 
cients supposed that the sun sets in the ocean, and at his rising comes out 
of it again. The morning and day-spring seem to mean the same thing; 
and the regularity of the appearance of the morning in the east is here re- 
ferred to. 

13. That it should lay hold, Sfc. The first light of the sun, as it strikes 
upon the verge of the horizon, is represented as laying hold of the ends of 
the earth, and shaking the wicked out of it, as dust from a sack ; light being 
hostile to thieves and malefactors of every kind, as darkness is favorable to 
them. See ch. xxiv. 14-17. 

14. It is changed, ^c: i. e. The earth, which in the darkness of night is 
a mere blank, but which, when illuminated by the sun, exhibits a great vari- 
ety of beautiful objects, and appears like sealing-clay which has received the 
stamp of the seal. — And all things stand forth as in rich apparel. See Cocc. 
Comment, and Ges. upon l^oS. Otherwise, And they (the morning and 
day-spring) come forth as a garment upon it. 

15. —^ their light is withheld. Darkness is the light of the wicked, i. e. 
that which enables them to accomplish their evil designs. Thus the 



JOB. 271 

strength and courage of the wicked are prostrated by the light, which 
discovers their evil practices. 

17. — gates of death : i. e. of hades, the under-world. 

19, 20. For similar conceptions see Hesiod, Theog, 748. 

24. — light : i. e. the light of the rising sun, which, in a moment, as it 
were, pervades and illuminates the whole hemisphere. 

27. The word J<yb probably denotes growth^ not bud^ and may be 

omitted in the connection. Literally, And cause the growth of the tender 
herb to spring forth. 

81. — fasten the bands, SfC, Here nUIJ^D is supposed to be by metathe- 
sis the same as r\'\12)^D') from iJj;, to tie, to bind. In support of this ren- 
dering, Ges. observes that the Asiatic poets often speak of the band of the 
Pleiades. The Sept. has it, dsa^ov UXeiudog* and the Ohald., ""Tli^, chaijis, 

— the Pleiads (in Hebrew, Chimah : i. e. a heap, a term corresponding 
to what we call a cluster) are a constellation in the sign Taurus, and make 
their appearance early in the spring ; hence they were called by the Ro- 
mans VergilicB. — Orion (Chesil, in Heb., i. e. the fool, or impious one) 
made its appearance early in the winter, and was considered the precursor 
of storms and tempests, and is hence called by Virgil nimbosus Orion. 
Mn. I. 535. According to the rendering sweet influences, as in the com- 
mon version, the meaning is. Canst thou forbid the sweet flowers to come 
forth, when the Seven Stars arise in the spring ? or open the earth for the 
husbandman's labor, when the winter season, at the rising of Orion, ties 
up their hands ? Patrick, But the purport of the questions evidently is 
to ask Job whether his power could do what is actually done by the 
Almighty. 

32. — the Signs. miTD, equivalent to m'SlD, lodgings, viz. of the sun, 

in the twelve successive months of his course ; thus denoting the twelve 
signs of the zodiac. — the Bear with his sons. Bear is not the literal 
meaning of the Hebrew \^y, which Mther denotes a bier, which is the 

name given by the modern Arabians to the constellation of the Great 
Bear. They also call the three stars in its tail daughters of the bier. Here 
these three stars are called sons. See JViebuhr^s Description of Arabia, 
pp. 113, 114. 

33. — ordinances of the heavens : i.e. the laws regulating the places, 
motions, and operations of the heavenly bodies. — their dominion : i. e. 
the influence which they have in producing the changes of the seasons. 

36. The transition from the phenomena of the heavens to the mind of 
man appeared so great, that in the first edition I departed, with others, 
from the usual meaning of the words, rendering this verse, Who hath im^ 



272 NOTES. 

parted understanding to clouds, and given to meteors intelligence ? the words 
being supposed to denote the regularity of the clouds in coming and 
going, and affording the due proportion of rain to the earth. I now regard 
the rendering clouds and meteors far too uncertain to be adopted. For 
m'n(p plainly denotes reinSy in Ps. 11. 8. Besides, if we suppose the ref- 
erence to be to the mind of Job in particular, the intelligence with which 
he was able to see and admire all the phenomena which had been recounted, 
the transition will not appear so very violent. See Ges. Lex. ad verb. 
nincj and ^i3ty. 

37. Who numbereth the clouds, ^c. The collecting and arrangement of 
the clouds are expressed by a metaphor taken from a civil or military enrol- 
ment. See Ps. cxlvii. 4; 2 Sam. xxiv. 10. The clouds are metaphorically 
called bottles, as containing rain. 

38. — Jiows into a molten mass: i. e. when, on account of the copious rains, 
the dry dust melts, as it were, into one mass. 

41. — the raven. Bochart observes that the raven expels his young from 
the nest as soon as they are able to fly. In this condition, being unable to 
obtain food by their own exertions, they make a croaking noise ; and God is 
said to hear it, and to supply their wants. 

Ch. XXXIX. 1. — wild goats: i. e. the ibex or mountain-goat. It is, 
iio doubt, the same kind of goat as that described by Burckhardt, in his 
Travels in Syria, p. 571 : "As we approached the summit of the moun- 
tain, (St. Catherine, adjacent to Mount Sinai,) we saw at a distance a 
small flock of mountain-goats feeding among the rocks. One of our Arabs 
left us, and by a widely circuitous route endeavored to get to the leeward 
of them, and near enough to fire at them ; he enjoined us to remain in 
sight of them, and to sit down in order not to alarm them. He had nearly 
reached a favorable spot behin(?a rock, when the goats suddenly took to 
flight They could not have seen the Arab ; but the wind changed, and 
thus they smelt him. The chase of the beden, as the wild goat is called, 
resembles that of the chamois of the Alps, and requires as much enterprise 
and patience." 

3. — their pains: i. e. their young, which cause their pains. 

5. The following account of the wild ass is given in Robinson's Calmet, 
on the authority of the Russian professors, Pallas and Gmelin : '* These 
animals inhabit the dry and mountainous parts of the deserts of Great Tar- 
tary, but not higher than about lat. 48°. They are migratory, and arrive 
in vast troops to feed, during the summer, in the tracts to the east and 
north of the sea of Aral. About autumn they collect in herds of hun- 
dreds, and even thousands, and direct their course southward towards 
India, to enjoy a warm retreat during the winter. But they more usually 



JOB. 273 

retire to Persia, *vliere they are found in tlie mountains of Casbin, and 
where part of them remain the whole year. . . . They assemble in troopa 
under the conduct of a leader or sentinel, and are extremely shy and vigi- 
lant. They will, however, stop in the midst of their course, and even 
suffer the approach of man for an instant, and then dart off with the 
utmost rapidity. They have been at all times celebrated for their swift- 
ness. Their voice resembles that of the common ass, but is shriller." 

" Xeno^phon says, Cyrop. Lib. I., that he has long legs, is very rapid m 
running, swift as a whirlwind, having strong and stout hoofs. . . . Martial 
gives the epithet handsome to the wild ass, *lPulcher adest onager,' L. 
xiii., Epig. 100 ; and Oppian describes it as 'handsome, large, vigorous, 
of stately gait, and his coat of a silvery color, having a black band along 
the spine of his back ; and on his flanks patches as white as snow.' Mr. 
Morier says, ' We gave chase to two wild asses, which had so much the 
speed of our horses, that, when they had got at some distance, they stood 
still and looked behind at us, snorting with their noses in the air, as if in 
contempt of their endeavors to catch them.' " Mobinson's Calmet. 

9.. — the wild -ox : ly^, reern. Otherwise, the rhinoceros. See Harris's 
Nat. His. p. 421. According to others, the wild oryx. But it is probable, 
from the nature of the description, that an animal of the beeve kind is 
intended ; i. e. one which appears, from its form and strength, to be 
qualified to do the business of the tame ox. So the wild ass is, by impli- 
cation, compared with the tame, in verse 7. In other passages where it 
occurs, it is parallel with animals of the beeve kind, and is mentioned as 
having horns, whereas the rhinoceros has but one short one. See Numb, 
xxiii. 22, xxiv. 8 ; Deut. xxxiii. 17 ; Ps. xxii. 21, xxix. 6, xcii. 10 ; Is. 
xxxiv. 7. For other arguments, see a lor.g and highly satisfactory article 
in Robinson's Calmet. 

13. The wing of the ostrich moveth joyfully. For an excellent de- 
scription of the ostrich, see Harris's Nat. His. p. 318. Dr. Shaw ob- 
serves : ** When I was abroad, I had several opportunities of amusing 
myself with the actions and behavior of the ostrich. It was very divert- 
ing to observe with what dexterity and equipoise of body it would play 
and frisk about on all occasions. In the heat of the day, particularly, it 
would strut along the sunny side of the house wiih great majesty. It 
would be perpetually fanning and priding itself with its quivering, ex- 
panded wings, and seem, at every turn, to admire and be in love with its 
own shadow. Even at other times, when walking about, or resting itself 
on the ground, the wings would continue their finning and vibrating 
motions, as if they were designed to mitigate and assuage that extraor- 
dinary heat wherewith their bodies seem to be naturally affected." — But 
is it with loving pinion and feathers ? This is the mr st literal meaning, 
and now most generally received by commentators on Job. The allusion 

12* 



274 NOTES. 

IS to the stork, which was called the affectionate or loving bird on account 
of her extreme devotedness to her young. She was called avis pia by 
the Romans. But because pia is a good representative of the Hebrew 
mon, it does not follow thsit pious is; as some translators render it. 

The point of the allusion is, that the ostrich, which resembles the stork 
so much in the structure of her body and the color of her wings, should yet 
be destitute of affection for her young. 

14. — she layeth her eggs on the ground. The verb I) Tj^fi here means, 

I suppose, to commit to or to deposit upon^ not to abandon in. The 
meaning is, that the ostrich, instead of building her nest on some high 
rock or tree, like other birds, deposits them upon the ground, where they 
are exposed to the view of every traveller, and tlie foot of every wild beast. 
— She warmeth them in the dust. I do not understand the meaning to be, 
that she abandons her eggs, to be hatched by the warmth of the sun 
heatyig the sand or dust; but rather that she broods over them in so ex- 
posed a place. The fact is, that the ostrich usually sits upon her eggs as 
other birds do ; but then she so often wanders, and so far, in search of 
food, that frequently the eggs are addle by means of her long absence from 
them. To this account we may add, when she has left her nest, whether 
through fear, or to seek food, if she light upon the eggs of some other 
ostrich, she sits upon them and is unmindful of her own. The Arabian 
poets often allude to this peculiarity of the ostrich. The following is 
quoted from Nawabig by Schultens : 

There are, who, deaf to nature's cries, 
On stranger tribes bestow their food; 
So her own eggs the ostrich flies. 
And, senseless, rears another's brood. 

** Notwithstanding the stupidity of this animal," says Dr. Shaw, ** its 
Creator hath amply provided for its safety, by endowing it with extraor- 
dinary swiftness, and a surprising apparatus for escaping from its enemy. 
' They, when they raise themselves up for flight, laugh at the horse and 
his rider.' They afibrded him an opportunity only of admiring at a dis- 
tance the extraordinary agility, and the stateliness, likewise, of their 
motions, the richness of their plumage, and the great propriety there 
was in ascribing to them an expand^ed, quivering wing. Nothing, 
certainly, can be more entertaining than such a sight; the wings, by 
their rapid but unwearied vibrations, equally serving them for s ils and 
oars ; while their feet, no less assisting in conveying them out of sight, 
are no less insensible of fatigue." Travels, 8vo. Vol II. p. 843. 

** The surprising swiftness of the ostrich is expressly mentioned by 
Xenophon in his xlnabasis; for, speaking of the desert of Arabia, he 



JOB. 275 

states that the oste-ich is frequently seen there ; that none could take 
them, the horsemen who pursue them soon giving it over; for they escaped 
far away, making use both of their feet to run, and of their wings, 
when expanded, as a sail to waft them along " Robinson'' s Calmet. 

[n regard to the proverbial stupidity of the ostrich, Dr. Shaw observes, 
that, in addition to her neglect of her young. **■ she is likewise incon- 
siderate and foolish in her private capacity, particularly in the choice of 
food, which is frequently highly detrimental and pernicious to it ; for she 
swallows everything greedily and indiscriminately, whether it be pieces of 
rags, leather, wood, stone, or iron. When I was at Oran, I saw one of 
these birds swallow, without any seeming uneasiness or inconveniency, 
several leaden bullets, as they were thrown upon the floor, scorching hot 
from the mould.'* Shaw's Travels, 8vo. Vol. II. p. 345. 

16. She is cruel, ^c. ** On the least noise or trivial occasion," says 
Dr. Shaw, *' she forsakes her eggs, or her young ones, to which perhaps 
she never returns; or if she does, it may be too late either to restore life 
to the one, or to preserve the lives of the others. Agreeably to this 
account, the Arabs sometimes meet with whole nests of these eggs undis- 
turbed; some of them are sweet and good, others are addle and corrupted; 
others, again have their young ones of different growth, according to the 
time, it may be presumed, they have been forsaken of the dam. They 
often meet with a few of the little ones, no bigger than well-grown 
pullets, half-starved, straggling and moaning about, like so many dis- 
tressed orphans for their mother." Travels, 8vo. Vol. II. pp. 344, 345. 
This want of affection is also recorded in Lam. iv. 3. — Her labor, fyc. : 
i. e. in laying her eggs. The ostrich is naturally a timid bird, but it is 
here said that she feareth not : i. e. she has no affectionate fear for her 
young; she abandons her nest without fears of what may happen to it. 

17. — hath denied her wisdom. The Arabs have the proverbial expres- 
sion. More foolish than an ostrich. 

18. — lifteth herself up : i. e. lifteth up her head and body, arid spread- 
eth her wings, in order to escape the pursuer. The expression does not 
imply that her feet quit the ground. 

19. — horse. The whole description refers to the horse as he appears 
in war. — Hast thou clothed his neck with his trembling manel: lam 
now convinced that the rendering thunder is untenable. The neck of the 
horse must be regarded as clothed with what is addressed to the sense of 
sight. It is not a natural metaphor to represent the neck as clothed with the 
sound of neighing which comes from the mouth. The noise made by the 
horse is referred to in another line. rtOIT") denotes trembling, quivering, 

and is used poetically to denote the mane of a horse, which appears to 
quiver on the neck of a high-bred one on account of its fatness, or which 
is erect and trembles in the exoitenient of runninoj. So the mane of a 



276 NOTES. 

horse or lion is in Greek called (pofit}. See Ges. Lex. ad HD^. Some sup- 

pose trembling to denote that which causes trembling in the spectator, 
i. e. terror. But this is harsh, and wholly against the usus loquendi in 
Hebrew. Umbreit renders the line. Hast thou clothed his neck with lofti- 
ness ? supposing the word nDJ^I to be formed from the Chald. DJ?1, equiva- 
lent to the Hebrew D-n. But this is conjecture. 

20. How majestic his snorting ! how terrible! There may, at first view, 
appear something ludicrous in speaking of the majestic snorting of a 
horse. But let one conceive of the war-horse, and suppose, moreover, that 
he has, or will, come against him in war, and the associations will be dif- 
ferent. It is to be recollected, too, that the horse was peculiarly an object 
of terror to the Hebrews, on account of their ignorance of horsemanship. 
See Is. xxxvi. 8, and the note. Jeremiah says, ch. viii. 16, 

From Dan is heard the snorting of their horses, 
At the sound of the neighing of their steeds the whole land 
trembleth. 

See Virg. Georg. HI. 85, &c. -^n. X[. 496. 

24. — he devour eth the ground. This expression is still used in Arabia 
to denote prodigious swiftness. See also Virg. Georg. Ill 143. He will 
not believe, ^c, i. e. he is so full of joy when he hears the sound of the 
trumpet that he scarcely trusts his ears. Comp. ix. 16; xxix. 24. 

26. — towards the south. Most of the species of hawks are said to be 
birds of passage. The instinct which teaches such birds to know the 
proper time for migrating in search of food, or of a warmer climate, or 
both, is probably referred to. 

29 — discern it from afar. See Iliad, xvii. 674 : 

— cyfTT* ahioQ, ov uu T£ (paoiv 
* O'tTUTov df(jyiO-9'ai vnovQaviojv nsTsyjvcov, 

As the bold bird , endued with sharpest eye 
Of all that wing the mid aerial sky. Pope, 



JOB. 277 



XXIII., XXIV. 



The Almighty is now represented as pausing, and demanding of Job an 
answer to his questions, and inviting him to defend his cause. But the 
admonitions of Elihu and of the Almighty have produced their proper 
effect; Job is impressed with the most profound reverence of the majesty 
of God; he has lost that boldness and presumption with which be once 
challenged the Almighty to a controversy ; and he acknowledges his weak- 
ness, and the rashness of his complaints, and bold appeals to God. But 
to make his submission and penitence more complete and impressive, the 
Almighty is represented as addressing him in a still severer tone of re- 
prehension. In reference to his boldness in desiring to enter into a con- 
troversy with him, the peity challenges him to emulate a single exertion 
of the Divine power. He adds the description of the river-horse and the 
crocodile, by which his power is strikingly illustrated. From the whole 
discourse it follows, that it is better for man to submit without murmuring 
to the will of so great a Being, than to contend with him, and require him 
to give an account of his doings. 

Ch. XL. 15. — the river-horse. This animal is usually mentioned by 
the ancients in connection with the crocodile, which is supposed to be 
denoted by the leviathan. The description seems to apply to the river- 
horse rather than to the elephant, in several particulars, which are well 
stated by Herder.* " In general, the description is undoubtedly that of 
an animal whose usual resort is the river, since it is introduced, as some- 
thing singular, that he eateth grass like the ox, that vte mountains bring 
him forth food, and the beasts of the field play around him. He sleeps 
among the reeds, and lies concealed among the marshes on the shore of the 
river, which clearly does not suit a description of the elephant. He goes 
against the stream, as if he would drink up the river with his enormous 
mouth, a character not well fitting a land-animal. His strength too is in 
his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly, where, on the contrary, 
the elephant is weakest. He that made him has furnished him with a 
sword ; for the sharp-pointed and projecting tusks of the hippopotamus 
may be considered his weapons; and the languaje applies better to these 
than to the weapons of the elephant. Since, moreover, the name behemoth 

* Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, Vol. I. p. 107, Marsh's Translation. 



278 NOTES. 

Itself is probably the Egyptian name of this animal, p-ehe-mouth, (river- 
ox,) here modified, as all foreign words were by the Hebrews and Greeks, 
to suit their own forms, and since, in company with the crocodile, it is 
placed apart from the land-animals, which also are arranged in a separate 
discourse by themselves, aad represented, as all creatures of the watery 
realm are by the Orientals, as something foreign and monstrous, it seems 
to me that this opinion has at least a balance of probabilities in its favor, 
and will soon become the prevailing one." See Robinson^ s Calmet, Art. 
Behemoth, where is an interesting description, extracted from the Travels 
of Riippell, the German naturalist, of the capture of one of these animals, 
which measured from the snout to the end of the tail fifteen feet; and his 
tusks from the root to the point, along the external curve, twenty-eight 
inches. See also, in Dr. Shaw's Travels, Vol. ii. p. 294, or Montfaucon's 
Antiquities, Vol. vii. p. 476, an engraving of the mosaic pavement at Prae- 
neste, in which the river-horse and crocodile are placed in company, the 
former being in the midst of reeds and fens, and plants, which correspond 
to the descriptions of the Egyptian lotus. 

17. — like the cedar. ** The tail of the hippopotamus, although short, 
is thick, and may be compared with the cedar for its tapering, conical 
shape, and its smoothness, thickness, and strength. But although it is 
thick, short, and very firm, yet he moves and twists it at pleasure; which 
is considered, in the sacred text, a proof of his prodigious strength." 
Scheuchser. 

19. — his sword. This refers to the long, bending teeth of the animal, 
with which he, as it were, mows the grass. The ucjnt], i. e. the sickle, or 
scythe, was ascribed to this animal by some of the ancient Greek writers. 
Thus Nicander, Theriac. ver. 566, quoted by Ros. : 

^'H iTZTCov, Tov IVsiXog VTiiq ^aiv ai-^aXosaactv 
B6ay,st, agovQiiaiv de xaxi^v iTCi^uXXiiai ccfJTTtjv, 

In the next verse the reason of his being furnished with it is given, viz. 
that, although he was an aquatic animal, he procured his food, not from 
the rivers, but from the grassy mountains. 

21. It has been doubted whether D'^^J^V denotes the lote-tree, Rhamnus 

lotus, Linn., or the lote-plant, the Egyptian water-lily, which grows in 
the water, or in places overflowed by water. See note on ver. 15, and. 
Wilkinson's Customs and Manners, &c. Vol. III. p. 71. 

23, — Jordan : i. e. a river as large as the Jordan; for the river-horse 
could not have lived upon the Jordan. Undoubtedly, the author under- 
stood, that, like the crocodile, he was found upon the Nile. He mentions 
the Jordan as an instance of a great river ; and it seems to be an argU' 



JOB. 2T9 

ment that the writer was a native of Palestine, and wrote for those who 
were familiar with the Jordan, that he mentions it as an instance of a 
great stream. The overflowing of it would not frighten the river-horse, 
because he was amphibious. 

Ch. XLT. 1. — the crocodile. See note on ch. iii. 8. The crocodile is 
here described in the hyperbolical style of Eastern poetry. See Harris's 
Nat. Hist., p. 245. The following description of the crocodile is from 
Shaw's Zoology, Vol. III. p. 184 : "The crocodile, so remarkable for its 
size and powers of destruction, has in all ages been regarded as one of the 
most formidable animals of the warmer regions. It is a native of Asia 
and Africa, but seems to be most common in the latter; inhabiting large 
rivers, as the Nile, the Niger, &c., and preying principally on fish, but 
occasionally seizing on almost every animal which happens to be exposed 
to its rapacity. The size to which the crocodile sometimes arrives is pro- 
digious ; specimens being frequently seen of twenty feet in length ; and 
instaDces are commemorated of some which have exceeded the length of 
thirty feet. The armor, with which the upper part of the body is covered 
may be numbered among the most elaborate pieces of Nature's mechanism. 
In the full-grown animal it is so strong and thick as easily to repel a 
musket-ball. The whole animal appears as if covered with the most 
regular and curious carved work. The mouth is of vast width, the gape 
having a somewhat flexuous outline, and both jaws being furnished with 
very numerous, sharp-pointed teeth. The number of teeth in each jaw ia 
thirty or more, and they are so disposed as to alternate with each other, 
when the mouth is closed. The legs are short, but strong and muscular. 
In the glowing regions of Africa^ where it arrives at its full strength 
and power, it is justly regarded as the most formidable inhabitant of the 
rivers. It lies in wait near the banks, and snatches dogs and other 
animals, swallowing them instantly, and then plunging into the flood, and 
seeking some retired part, where it may be concealed, till hunger again 
invites it to its prey." — Or press down, ^c. : i. e. Canst thou put a cord 
into his mouth, so as to draw him with it as with a bridle ? See Ges. upon 

2. — a rope — a ring : i. e. by which he might be fastened to the land, 
after he was caught. 

5. — for thy maidens : i. e. for their amusement. 

6 — lay snares for him ? S^c. : i. e. Do the fishermen in company catch 
him, and sell him like fish ? 

8. Tliou wilt no more think of battle: i. e. thy first attack on the 
monster will have such an issue, that thou wilt not dare to try a second. 

9. Behold y his hope : The third person for the second. The meaning is. 



v.. 



280 NOTES. 

I'hy hope (of taking him) is vain. See ch. xxxii. 15, and note. See also 
Glass. Phil. Sac. pp. 318, 647. Ed. Dath. 

13. — his garment : i. e. his skin. — his jaws : lit. his double bridle, 
which his jaws resembled. 

1 5. — shields : i. e. scales. 

18. — eyelashes of the morning. This may happen, says Schultens, 
when the crocodile lifts his head above water in the night. His staring 
eyes, which are the first object that strikes the beholder, may then be com- 
pared to the dawning light. The eyes of the crocodile are said to be small. 
But, as Bochart observes, they are so remarkable, that, when the 
Egyptians would represent the morning by a hieroglyphic, they painted a 
crocodile's eye. 

19-22. Here the crocodile is described as in pursuit of his prey on 
land. His mouth is then open, his blood inflamed, his breath thrown out 
with prodigious vehemence, like volumes of smoke, and heated to such a 
degree as to seem a flaming fire. Strength and Terror are represented as 
animated beings, the one seated on his neck, and the other bounding 
before him. 

20. — heated : Lit. blown up, 

23. — flakes : i. e. the pendulous parts of his flesh. 

26. — doth not hold : i. e. will not pierce him and remain fixed in him, 
but is repelled and beaten back by the excessive hardness of his skin. 

30. — potsherds. His scales are compared to fragments of broken 
earthen vessels. — thrashing-sledge, r^'^n. His outer skin, or coat of 

mail, is represented as rough and pointed like a thrashing-sledge. This 
was an instrument for rubbing or beating out grain upon the thrashing- 
floor. It consists of three or four rollers of wood, iron, or stone, made 
rough, and joined together in the form of a sledge or dray; and is drawn 
by oxen over the grain in order to separate the kernels from the ear. 
See Ges. ad verb. 

32. — shining path : viz. the white foam which he stirs up in his 
passage through the water. 

34. He looketh down, SfC. : i. e. Although a reptile, he is not afraid of 
the fiercest wild beasts. 



JOB 28] 



XXV., XXVI. 



Job is now represented as impressed with a deep sense of his presump- 
tion and irreverence in his former discourses, and expressing his penitence 
in the strongest terms of self-condemnation. The way is thus prepared 
for the vindication of the integrity and piety of Job by the Deity, and 
consequently for the decision of the question which had been the great 
Bubject of controversy. The Almighty decides that the friends of Job 
had not spoken that which was right, in contendmg that the misery of Job 
was inflicted by God as the punishment of his sins; and that Job had 
spoken the truth, in maintaining that no man's character can be ascertain- 
ed by his external condition. He confirms his decision by restoring him 
to his former prosperity. 

Ch. XLII. 3. Who is he, S^c. This is repeated from ch. xxxviii. 2, 
where the question is asked by the Deity. As if Job had said, Alas ! who 
is it, as thou sayest, that hideth, (Sec. I am the presumptuous man. 

4. / will ask thee, ^c. I will no more dispute and endeavor to con- 
tend with thee with the pride of an equal, but inquire of thee with the 
humility of a scholar. The words which Jehovah had spoken to Job by 
way of challenge, ch. xxxviii. 3, and xl. 7, Job uses in the spirit of deep 
submission. 

5. — hearing of the ear — eye seen. This may mean only, that Job 
had a much more perfect knowledge of the Deity than before, as knowl- 
edge which is gained by seeing is proverbially more accurate and thorough 
than that which comes to us by the report of others. It is said that 
Jehovah spake from the whirlwind, but no visible form is mentioned. 

6. — / abhor myself: i. e. on account of my former rash speeches 
respecting thee. The general meaning will not be altered if we supply 
*' it " instead of myself as the object of the verb. 

7. — ye have not spohn concerning me that ichich is right, as hath my 
servant Job. This language is to be understood comparatively, for Job 
has just been censured for rashly complaining of the ways of God; and it 
is to be understood relatively, i. e. with reference to the main subject of 
discussion. They had not spoken right, in maintaining that misery is 



282 NOTES ON JOB. 

always a proof of guilt, and in condemning an apparently upright and 
good man, merely because he was afflicted. They had not spoken so well 
in supporting such a proposition, and in heaping unmerited reproach upon 
a good man, as Job had in denying the proposition, and in maintaining 
his innocence. See Introduction, p. 15. 

10. — turned the captivity , ^c. : i. e. delivered him frcm his distress, 
and restored to him his former prosperity. 

11. — a kesita ■ — a ring of gold : i. e. as tokens of regard. This pro- 
bably denoted a lump of silver of a certain weight. Gesenius, from a 
comparison of Gen. xxxiii. 19, xxiii. 16, supposes it to be about 4 shekels. 

14. The names of Job's daughters have reference to their loveliness; 
Jemima denoting dove^ or, as some suppose, /air as the day ; Kezia, cassia; 
and Kerenhappiich, horn of beautiful painty i. e. beautiful as those whose 
persons are adorned to the utmost extent. 

15. — among their brethren. This, being contrary to custom, is men- 
tioned for the purpose of showing the extent of Job's wealth, as well as 
th« excellence of his daughters. See Numb, xxvii. 8. 



NOTES ON ECCLESIASTES. 



1, The term Ecdesiastes is the Greek translation of the Hebrew 

nirip* Kohdeth, which is the title of the book. The word Preacher 

conveys the meaning of the original as well as any English term. 
The Greek rendering, Ecdesiastes, is the more literal, as the Hebrew 
noun is derived from a verb signifying to call together, to assemble; and 
the secondary meaning, preacher, comes from the pm-pose for which the 
assembly is called, namely, to be addressed. As no son of David was 
king at Jerusalem except Solomon, there can be no reasonable doubt 
that he is designated as the Preacher, in reference to the contents of 
the book which is here ascribed to him. As to the feminine form, Kohe- 
leth, it is supposed by Hitzig, Fiirst, and others, to have been originally 
applied to wisdom, regarded as calling around her the lovers of instruc- 
tion, as in Prov. i. 20, viii. 1, ix. 1, and transferred to Solomon as the 
embodiment of wisdom. Gesenius regards the term, thus put in the 
feminine, as a name denoting office, according to a common Hebrew 
idiom. The former view is not so satisfactory as it would have been if 
any instance had been adduced in which wisdom was actually called 
Koheleth. I leave the matter doubtful. 

In ch. i. 2-11, the Preacher announces the principal subject of his 
book, the vanity of human things, and illustrates it by the unprofitable- 
ness of human striving and labor, ver. 3 ; and by the instances of per- 
petual change and wearisome vicissitude in the natural world, while 
nothing new is brought to pass, and no rest is attained. In endeavor- 
ing to illustrate the idea, that the mind of man receives no satisfaction 
from his labors and experiences, the writer seems to impart his own 
feelings to inanimate nature, and to represent it as wearying itself with 
incessant change, without effecting any thing new ; as it were, without 
satisfying itself, or gaining any thing by its labors. All is perpetual 

1283] 



284 NOTES. 

change, wearisome labor, and no rest. The sea is not made fiill by the 
streams, and the mind of man is not satisfied by all which it learns or 
enjoys in the world. 

Knobel regards the reference to the sun, the wind, and the streams 
as designed to show the fruitlessness of human efforts, in consequence 
of the unchangeableness of nature^s operations, and the impossibihty 
of man's altering what is fixed by an estabUshed law of nature. But 
the author seems to describe, not the constancy of nature, but of her 
clianges. Besides, the mere constancy of outward nature does not 
seem to present a strong reason against human striving in general, 
but only against striving in opposition to natural laws. 

2. Vanity of vanities; i.e., mere vanity, extreme vanity. 

3. What profit; i.e., what advantage which can compensate him 
for his labor, and leave a balance in his favor 1 Or, what advantage 
which he would not have had without anxious and laborious striving 1 

4. One generation^ &c. Some connect this verse with the preceding 
one, supposing it to illustrate the vanity of human exertions, from the 
consideration that man at death must leave the results of them. It 
appears to me more natural to suppose, that the writer adduces the fact 
of the continually changing generations of men as an illustration of the 
vanity of human things. 

7. — to the place, &c. ; i.e., by subterraneous passages and channels, 
or by evaporation and rain, they return to the fountains and streams. It 
is mentioned as an instance of the vanity of human things, that the 
waters, when they have arrived at the sea, where they had so much 
desired, as it were, to arrive, hasten back to their springs, where again 
they do not rest, but return again to the sea. " Thus all things in the 
world are movable and mutable, and subject to a continual toil an4 
toss, constant in nothing but inconstancy, still going, never resting.'* 

8. All words become weary. This is the most literal rendering, and 
most probable from the connection. Otherwise, All things are full of 
labor; all other things, as well as the sun, the wind, and the streams, 
are in perpetual motion and wearisome agitation. There is no rest to 
material things, and no satisfaction to the mind of man. — express it; 
i.e., the subject of the preceding and following verses, namely, the per* 
petual changes of things without novelty or improvement. 

9. The thing that hath been, &c. The writer seems to regard it as an 
additional illustration of the vanity of human things, that, while there 
is perpetual change, there is no novelty ; that there is a perpetual re- 
currence of the same things. The passage seems to express the feeling 
of satiety and disgust with which human life is sometimes regarded. 



ECCLESIASTES. 285 

The following passage from Seneca, Epist. XXIV., is quoted by Rosen- 
miiller to illustrate these verses : '^ Quosdam subit eadem faciendi 
videndique satietas, et vitse non odium, sed fastidium ; in quod pro- 
labimur, ipsa impellente philosophia, dum dicimus : Quousque eadem ? 
Kempe expergiscar, dormiam, satiabor, esuriam, algebo, asstuabo ; nul- 
liiis rei finis est; sed in orbem nexa sunt omnia ; fugiunt ac sequuntur. 
Diem nox premit, dies noctem ; ^stas in autumnum desinit, autumno 
hj^ems instat, quas vere compescitur. Omnia transeunt, ut revertan- 
tur; nihil novi video; nihil novi facio. Eit aliquando et hujus rei 
nausea. Multi sunt qui non acerbum judicent vivere, sed super- 
fluum.^' 

10. It hath been, &e. ; i.e., if any one supposes any thing which takes 
place to be new, he is deceived. Eor it certainly has occurred long 
before. 

11. — 710 remembrance. A reason seems to be assigned here why 
some esteem things new which are really old ; namely, ignorance of 
ancient times, want of records of the past. 

12-18. Having illustrated his declaration, that all was vanity, by 
general arguments, drawn from the phenomena of the world, the au- 
thor now represents Solomon as appealing to his own experience as an 
additional illustration of what he had said. And, first, from ver. 13 to 
the end of the chapter, he aims to show how vain and unsatisfactory 
are the pursuit and acquisition of knowledge. The fame of Solomon 
for wisdom makes his example a striking illustration of the sentiment 
which it is brought to illustrate. 

13. — an evil business, &c. ; i.e., a source of pain and vexation. 
Knowledge seems to be thus represented, 1. On account of the labor 
and weariness which attend its pursuit, ch. xii. 12; but, 2. chiefly, 
on account of the perplexing, imperfect, painful subjects of contem- 
plation which it presents to the mind, ver. 14, 15. Dr. South, in his 
Sermon on the Evils of Knowledge, observes : " Knowledge is tlie 
parent of sorrow from its very nature, as being the instrument and 
means by which the afflicting quality of the object is conveyed to the 
niinil ; for, as nothing delights, so nothing troubles, till it is known. 
The merchant is not troubled as soon as his ship is cast away, but as 
soon as he hears of it. The affairs and objects that we converse with 
have most of them a fitness to afflict and disturb the mind. And, as the 
colors lie dormant and strike not the eye till the hght actuates them 
into a visibility, so those afflictive qualities never exert their sting, till 
knowledge displays them, and slides them into the apprehension." 
But if good predominates over evil in the universe, (and who can doubt 



286 NOTES. 

if?) then knowledge, regarded in this light, must be the source of more 
pleasure than pain/^ 

14. — all the things, &c. ; i.e., I saw that all human pursuits, all the 
business in which men engage, and all the objects from which they ex- 
pect happiness, were vain, unsubstantial, incapable of yielding satis- 
faction to the mind. In fact, the desire and endeavor to catch and 
possess something so intangible and unsubstantial as air represent the 
vanity of human actions and pursuits. — striving after wind. This ren- 
dering is preferred by Gesenius, De Wette, Rosenmiiller, and Knobel. 
(Comp. ver. 17, and, in the Hebrew, ch. ii. 22; iv. 16.) 

15. The design of the proverbial expressions in this verse seems to 
be to assign a reason why human striving should be vain, and human 
pursuits should be so incapable of affording satisfaction ; namely, the 
perverseness of human nature, and the imperfections of human things. 
As that which is by nature crooked cannot by human endeavors be 
straightened ; as the vine, for instance^ cannot be made to grow up 
straight, like the poplar ; and as that which is naturally wanting to any 
thing cannot be supplied by human exertion; for instance, as man 
cannot be made to possess wings, like a bird, or more than two hands 
or two feet ; so there are incongruities, discords, imperfections in hu- 
man life and the course of human things, which are irremediable, and 
render it impossible for man to find complete satisfaction. Hence, the 
knowledge of the things that are done under the sun gives pain. 

17. — senselessness and folly ; i.e., to observe senseless and foolish 
conduct, and its consequences. 

18. See the note on ver. 13. Henry closes his notes upon this chap- 
ter with the following good remark : "Let us not be driven off from 
the pursuit of any useful knowledge, but put on patience to break 
through the sorrow of it; yet let us despair of finding true happiness 
in this knowledge, and expect it only in the knowledge of God, and 
the careful discharge of our duty to him. He that increases in heav- 
enly wisdom, and in an experimental acquaintance with the principles, 
powers, and pleasures of the spiritual and divine life, increases joy, such 
as will shortly be consummated in everlastmg joy." 

Ch. II. 1-26. Not having found happiness, or the chief good, in 
the pursuit and acquisition of knowledge, Solomon is represented 
in this chapter as seeking it in the pleasures of sense, united with the 
pursuits of knowledge or philosophy. The result of this pursuit, 1-11. 
He then compares wisdom and folly, and, while asserting the infinite 
superiority of the former, yet perceives its insufficiency in regard to the 



ECCLESIASTES. 287 

attainment of happiness. For the wise man and the fool have a com- 
mon lot, and a fool often enjoys that for which a wise man fatigues 
himself, 12-23. He then recommends the tranquil, contented, cheer- 
ful enjoyment of life's blessings, without anxiety and care about dis- 
tant objects and perplexing subjects, 24-26. 

2. It is mad; i.e., it is an indication of madness ; more appropriate 
to a madman than to a rational being. — What availeth it? i.e., what 
good does it do ? what happiness does it confer 1 At first view% there 
may appear some inconsistency between this and ver. 24. But here 
the author is speaking of the pleasure which is pursued and striven 
for ; but, in ver. 24, of that which comes unsought. 

3. — strengthen, &c. So Gesenius. If, with Fiirst in his Lexicon, 
we suppose tl'^^^ to mean to bestow protracted care upon, or to nurse, 

the sense will be nearly the same. — while my heart cleaved to wisdom. 
(Comp. ver. 9.) Some suppose the meaning to be, that he was wise 
in the choice of pleasures, and in the degree to which he pursued them. 
I rather think the meaning to be, that he united the pursuits of wis- 
dom or philosophy with the pleasures of the senses. — see what was 
good, &c. ; i.e., till I should find out by trial whether that supreme good 
which men ought to propose to themselves and prosecute in life con- 
sisted in the pleasures of sense ; i.e., in pleasures derived from objects 
addressed to the senses. 

6. — pools of water. "At about an hour^s distance to the south of 
Bethlehem are the pools of Solomon. They are three in number, 
of an oblong figure, and are supported by abutments. The antiquity 
of their appearance entitles them, Dr. Kichardson thinks, to be con- 
sidered as the work of tlie Jewish monarch." Modern Traveller. 
(See more in Bush's Illustrations ad loc.) Maundrell observes: 
" As to the pools, it is probable enough they may be the same with 
Solomon's ; there not being the like store of excellent spring-water to 
be met with anywhere else throughout all Palestine. But, for the gar- 
dens, one may safely affirm, that, if Solomon made them in the rocky 
ground which is now assigned for them, he demonstrated greater power 
and -wealth in finishing his design, than he did wisdom in choosing the 
place for it." Travels, p. 151, Amer. edit. — the grove that produceth 
trees; young plantations, or perhaps nurseries, may be intended. 

8. — a chosen woman, and chosen women. The words thus rendered 
do not elsewhere occur. From their probable derivation, as well as 
from the circumstance that the harem is nowhere alluded to as a 
source of pleasure, if not here, we think we have given tlie vvords their 



288 NOTES. 

true meaning. Tlie singular probably refers to the queen, and the 
plural to the king's other wives and his concubines. (See Gesen. ad 
verb. n^'iZi.) 

T • 

10. — my portion, &c. ; i.e., the present temporary enjoyment of 
them was all the benefit I could expect or receive from all my labors. 
There was no permanent, abiding good. 

11. All that he did was performed with labor and preserved with 
anxiety ; and, above all, the pleasure arising from it was transitory. 
After the freest enjoyment of what is called pleasure, he felt the inward 
thirst and torment still. 

12. Having tried what satisfaction was to be found, first in knowl- 
edge and then in the pleasures of sense, he here compares these two 
sources of happiness one with another, and passes judgment upon 
them. — Cometh after the king ; i.e., succeeds me in this inquiry or trial 
respecting happiness. No mere private man can be expected to have 
a larger experience than so great a king, or be better able to form a 
judgment respecting the subject of which he is treating. — already 
done, i.e., in the way of experience and discovery as to what is true 
good. 

14. — in'liis head; where they ought to be, in order that he may 
guard against danger or foresee advantages. The eyes of the fool are, 
as it were, in his heels, or in the ends of the earth (Prov. xvii. 24), so 
that he is likely to stumble or fiiil of advantages. — one event, &c. ; i.e.^ 
both are subject to many of the same calamities, and especially to death 
and oblivion. 

15. — wiser than others; i.e., to what purpose have I taken so much 
pains to acquire wisdom. — This also is vanity ; i.e.. Although wisdom 
excels folly, yet it is liable to the charge of vanity, since it has no 
power to secure its possessor from many of the calamities to which 
the fool is subject. 

18. — leave it; i.e., what was obtained by my labor, my posses- 
sions. 

24. — to eat and drink, and let his soul enjoy good in his labor. The 
drift and meaning of this language is very different from that of ch. 
ii. 1, &e. It is no Epicurean indulgence, no addiction to the mere 
pleasures of sense, which the author here pronounces to be the best 
course a man can pursue in order to make the best of a vain world. 
But, in opposition to the anxious and strenuous pursuit of wisdom or 
pleasure or wealth, he advises to give up anxious cares for distant 
objects and about perplexing subjects, and to enjoy, with a tranquil, 



ECCLESIASTES. 289 

contented, cheerfiil mind, the blessings of life, as he goes along. And 
this tranquil, contented, cheerful spirit, he says, is the gift of God, i.e., 
" to those who are good in his sight,^' ver. 26 ; i.e., it cannot be had 
without religion and virtue. This is an important sentiment of the 
book, and recurs repeatedly as the result of the author's meditations 
upon life. (See ch. iii. 12, 13, 22; v. 18-20; vii. 14; viii. 15; ix. 7-10; 
xi. 9.) From a comparison of these passages, together with ch. v. 
1-7, and the whole of ch. xii., it is manifest that it is not mere sen- 
sual or selfish indulgence which the author commends as the best thing 
which a man can attain in a world of vanity, but only such a cheerful, 
joyful participation of present blessings as is consistent with the 
thought of God and retribution, or with obedience to the commands 
of the Creator. The cheerfulness and the joy which he commends is 
in opposition to anxious cares about the future or about unavoidable 
evils, or to the ambitious^ eager pursuit of distant good. 

25. For who can eat, &c. The meaning seems to be, that Solo- 
mon, from his large experience, could tell as well as any one 
whether " to eat and drink, and let one's soul enjoy good in his 
labor," did or did not come from the hand of God ; whether those 
who were not "good in his sight" could have such enjoyment. 
Instead of 7nore than I, ^55?3 y^H might be translated except I ; 
i.e., I who have labored for it. — who can hasten [thereunto], &c. 
The plain and common meaning of izi^n is to hasten, and hence to 

he eager. It is elsewhere used to qualify another word. (See Ps. 
xxii. 20; cxix. 60.) I cannot find that in the later, more than in the 
ancient Hebrew, it means to enjoy one's self, or to enjoy pleasure, as Stu- 
art and others have it. Buxtorf, in his Lex. Chaldaicum et Talmudi- 
cum, says that it means simply to perceive, and that the noun ID "in de- 
notes the five senses. But to perceive pleasure or enjoyment is another 
thing. The conjectural reading, ^S^>2 in place of '^5?273, as making the 

meaning to be, ivho can eat, &c., without him, i.e., without God, is unne- 
cessary, and therefore inadmissible. 

26. For — Godgiveth, &c. " For this is a blessing which God reserves 
for hira whom he loves ; whose sincere piety he rewards with wisdom 
to judge when, and with knowledge to understand how, he should 
enjoy and take the comfort of all that he hath ; especially with inward 
joy, satisfaction of heart, and tranquilhty of mind, in this favor of God 
to hira, whereby the troublesome affairs of this life are tempered and 
seasoned : but he delivers up him that regards not God to the most 

13 



290 NOTES. 

cruel tormentors, which are his unsatiable desires and anxious cares, 
vfith busy labors and incessant pains to increase his estate without end, 
and to heap up vast treasures, which God disposes afterward to those 
who approve themselves to him in a pious, just, and charitable liie, 
with contented minds/' Patrick. — good in his sight, &c. That this 
refers to the moral character is evident, not only from its contrast with 
fc^L:in> which usually means sinner, and never simply odious or offensive ; 
but also from vii. 26, and especially viii. 12, 13, where the same two 
characters are contrasted, and where ^^tsin? sinner, is defined by 

^1l J^?^' evil-doer, and contrasted with those who fear God. (See also 

ix. 2.) To say with Stuart, following Hitzig, that " good in his sight'' 
here means " one who is regarded with favor,'' seems to me quite 
arbitrary. — This also is vanity; i.e., to the sinner, to get riches for 
those for whom he never designed them. Sotne suppose the meaning 
to be, that " to eat and drink, and enjoy good from all his labor," 
(ver. 24), is "vanity, and striving after wind." This seems to me 
harder than to refer it to a subordinate part of the sentence, as I have 
done. 

Ch. III. 1-15. The design of this passage seems to be to show 
the vanity of human efforts and anxieties respecting the future, in con- 
sequence of the fixed course and established, unavoidable changes of 
human things. A higher power than man's controls human efforts 
and destinies. Hence, a quiet enjoyment of Mfe is recommended as 
true wisdom. 

1. — a fixed period, &c. — appointed time. This does not mean difit 
season, an appropriate time, when men may and ought to do the things 
therein mentioned, and which, if neglected, will not again recur. For 
this meaning will not apply to several of the subjects which are enu- 
merated in the following verses. What, for instance, is the appropriate 
time to kill or to hate? The author is speaking, I conceive, not of sl fit 
time, an appropriate, opportune season, but of a necessary change, a pe- 
riod that must recur. Every thing remains but for a time. Every con- 
dition soon passes away. Nothing is stable and enduring. The 
thought is somewhat similar to that which is contained in the prover- 
bial expression, that " all things have their day.'' 

3. — to kill. In ver. 1, natural death was spoken of; here, that 
which comes by violence, as by r'^^ bbers, assassins, or by course of law, 
or by accident. — to break down, &c. At one time, buildings are de- 



KCCLESIASTES. 291 

strojed in war, or by hurricanes, floods, or conflagrations ; at another, 
new edifices are erected in their place. 

4. — to weep, &c. There are changes in Hfe, such as sickness, loss 
of relations, &c., moving us to tears, which are succeeded by others 
eflacing the memory of trouble, and leading to joy. — to mourn, &c. 
This may be distinguished from weeping, as being a formal, public 
expression of grief, as dancing is of joy. 

5. -^ to cast stones asunder ; as in the case of edifices, fortifications, 
&c., which fall into ruin ; or they are brought together for building 
new walls, &c. — to embrace, &c. ; i.e., a time when we embrace our 
friends after a long absence, and a time when they are again absent 
from us. Or, possibly, a time when we live in friendship with any 
one, and a time when, by change of pursuits or character, we become 
estranged from him. 

6. — to keep, &c. ; i.e., from attachment to the object, or expecta- 
tion of benefit from it. — to cast away ; i.e., as worthless. 

7. — to rend; as in great and sudden grief, as Gen. xxxvii. 29 ; Joel 
ii. 13. — to sew; i.e., when the grief is over ; or, perhaps, making new 
garments on some occasion of joy. — silence; when men will keep 
silence through grief, sickness, &c. 

8. — to love. Love is often followed by hatred. 

9. What profit, &c. What can his utmost efforts to obtain good 
or avoid evil avail, while there is such a system of vicissitude and 
change by the appointment of Providence ? 

10. — the labor ; i.e., the labor of the human mind in endeavoring 
to explore the ways of God in the government of the world, and the 
appointment of the various vicissitudes of human life. 

11. — maketh every thing good in its time. The meaning seems to be, 
that every thing which takes place in the course of providence, by 
Divine appointment or permission, is right ; so that, all things consid- 
ered, it could not have been done better, ver. 14 ; and would appear 
so, if viewed in relation to its season, tendencies, and relations : — 

" And spite of pride, in erring reason's spite, 
One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right." 

— but. For tliis use of the Hebrew particle, see ch. iv. 16. — but 
he hath put the world into the heart of man, so that he understandeth not, &c. 
The translation and interpretation of this passage are attended with 
much difficulty ; first, on account of the ambiguity of the Hebrew term 
ti^'v, rendered ivorld, and, secondly, on account of the Hebrew negative 
particles; whether both have their separate force, or whether they 



292 NOTES. 

unite their force to form one negative. The Hebrew term, in all othei 
instances in which it occurs in the Scriptures, denotes duration, indeti 
nite duration, whether j^ast or future, and sometimes eternal duration ; 
but in the Clialdee and Rabbinic usage, the luorld, luorldly things, like the 
Greek alcov, in Eph. ii. 2; Heb. i. 2; xi. 3 (see also Buxtorf's Lex. 
Cliald. et Talm., especially on tails'); i.e., things which exist in a 

given period of duration, more or less definite. If we suppose this 
rendering correct, and that there is but one negation in the sentence, 
according to the Common Version, which I follow, the meaning will be, 
that, according to the same idiom by which he is said to harden the 
heart of Pharaoh, God has put the cares, or the love, of the world into the 
hearts of men; so that they cannot discern the propriety and the beau- 
tiful harmony of his dispensations, and cannot understand the whole 
that he does in his providence from beginning to end, but only a part 
of it. Others give to the term t:>)i a signification more nearly alhed 

to the common meaning, and render the passage, And God hath put 
futurity or duration into the heart of man; i.e., the capacity of looking 
back upon the past, and forward into the future, except that he cannot 
understand the work which God doethfrom the beginning to the end; i.e., God 
has given man the capacity of looking back upon the past and forward 
into the future, but not in such a measure or degree that he can under- 
stand the work of God from beginning to end. This seems to me to 
be strained, to make eternity mean a capacity to look into eternity. Others 
resort to the Arabic, making D^i^ mean understanding or reason; 

translating, " He hath put intelligence in their heart, without which no 
man can find out the work which God doeth from beginning to end.'' 
So Stuart and Fiirst, following Hitzig. But to this there are two 
objections, of which the first is decisive with me. 1. There is a great 
abundance of words in Hebrew to denote intelligence^ insight, reason 
Why, then, should the writer use an Arabic word ? 2. Though I am 
not such a reader of Arabic as to be able to aflSrm that D^ip never 
means reason or intelligence in that language, I can say that there is no 
such meaning assigned to it in Ereytag's Lexicon ; but only that of 
learning, art, and science, in the objective sense, as the science of phys- 
ics, theology, &c. (See Ereytag, iii. p. 213.) As to the double nega- 
tive contained in i^p n^b^^ "^^?r^ every one knows the general rule in 
Hebrew to be, that two negatives strengthen the negation. (See 
Gesen. Grammar, § 152.) It seems tome that Hitzig's • remarks are 



ECCLESIASTES. 293 

by no means conclusive against the construction which I have adopted, 
being that of the Common Version and of most scholars. Besides, the 
translation of EQtzig and Mr. Stuart gives a sentiment in opposition to 
the current of the whole book and of other writers of the Old Testa- 
ment. According to these critics, the meaning is, that without intelli- 
gence or reason ^' no man can find out the work which God doeth from 
beginning to end.^' Surely it needed no Solomon to tell us that. But 
is it the doctrine of the Preacher, or of the Book of Job, or of an/ 
sacred writer, that with reason "a man can find out the work that God 
doeth from beginning to end" 1 (See viii. 17, already cited ; i. 17, 18 ; iv. 
1-3 ; Job xxxvii.; xxxviii.) The main design of the passage, which- 
ever explanation may be adopted, is illustrated by ch. viii. 17 : *' Then 
I saw the whole work of God, that a man cannot comprehend that 
which taketh place under the sun : how much soever he labor to search 
it out, yet shall he not comprehend it ; yaa, though a wise man resolve 
to know it, yet shaU he not be able to comprehend it.^' 

12. — enjoy good. (Comp. ch. ii. 24, and the note.) 

13. — gift of God; i.e., " to him that is good in his sight. (See the 
note on ch. ii. 24.) 

14. — whatever God doeth. The context seems to require this to be 
understood as referring to the course of things under the Divine gov- 
ernment, rather than to the works of creation. It sets forth the per- 
fection and uniformity of his conduct in the government of the world. 
— for ever; i.e., is unalterable. Patrick has given a good paraphrase of 
the verse : " It is not only very foolish and vain, but a great plague, to 
be discontented that things go otherwise than we desire ; for certain it 
is, God hath settled them by such an eternal and immutable law, in 
that course and order before described, ver. 1-3, &c., in which nothing 
is superfluous, nothing wanting, that it is not in the power of man to 
make the least alteration one way or other; therefore we must alter 
ourselves, and not murmur that we cannot change the course of things, 
which God hath thus immovably fixed, not to make us miserable, by 
fretting at it, but happy, by reverent submission to the Divine govern- 
ment, and humble patience under those troubles which we cannot hon- 
estly avoid, and a due care not to offend the Divine majesty, whose 
will shall be done, one way or other, if not by us, yet upon us." 

15. — recalleth that which is past; i.e., he repeats it; makes the 
future resemble the past, and substantially the same with it, so that 
there shall be ''nothing new under the sun." " This alone is sufficient 
to silence all our unprofitable, as well as undutiful, complaints about 
that which hath always been and ever will be. For we, in this present 



294 NOTES. 

age, are subject to no other laws than those by which God hath gov- 
erned the world from the beginning ; nor will the next produce any 
other method than that wherein he hath already proceeded : but, 
though that which succeeds thrusts out what went before, it brings tlie 
very same things about again, as constantly as spring and fall, sum- 
mer and winter, return in their seasons." Patrick. 

16-22. The vanity of human things is illustrated in this passage 
from the prevalence of injustice, and the resemblance of men to brutes 
in respect to hardships and death. Hence the usual inference of the 
writer, that man should lead a quiet, cheerful hfe, without anxiety con- 
cerning the unknown future. 

16. — in the place of justice; i.e., where justice ought specially to 
be, where rulers or judges professed to administer justice. The mean- 
ing may, however, be more general, referring to justice between man 
and man. The fact to which he refers seems to be introduced as a 
new instance of the vanity of human things. 

17. — a time; i.e., of judgment. — hath he appointed. This ren- 
dering is obtained merely by changing the diacritic point, reading 
i:3 for Ui. (Comp. ch. xii. 14; xi. 9; Dan. vii. 9, 10; Job xix. 29 ) 
It is a question whether the judgment or retribution here spoken of 
was expected by the writer to take place in the present or in the future 
world. From the context, ver. 18-21, and from other passages in the 
book, I think it most probable that the present life was exclusively in 
his view. The passage in Daniel, above referred to, is a good illustra- 
tion of a time of judgment ; for undoubtedly it relates to a judgment in 
the present world. So the Book of Job, ch. xix. 29, contains men- 
tion of a judgment, although the plan and the contents of that work 
exclude the idea of a retribution after death. If the Preacher had held 
a belief in a state of retribution after death, his faith must have been 
manifested in otlier parts of the work, and applied to the solution of 
the doubts and difficulties relating to the course of human things which 
perplexed him. It seems to me certain that, if the Preacher had be- 
lieved in a future state of righteous retribution, he could never have 
written such a book as this. " Life and immortality were brought to 
light by the gospel." The phrase, will judge the righteous and the wicked j 
means will acquit and deliver the righteous, and condemn and punish 
the wicked. 

19. — one spirit in them; i.e., the spirit of life. (Comp. ch. viii. 
8; xii. 7; Judges xv. 19; 1 Sam. xxx. 12; Ezek. xxxvii. 8; Hab. ii. 
19.) Sometimes this vital spirit is called the spirit or breath of God, as 
having been imparted by him, breathed by him into the nostrils of 



ECCLESIASTES. 295 

men, and as returning to him again. (See Job xxvii. 3.) In Job 
xxxiv. 14, he is said to take hack his spirit, when men die. (Comp. Ps. 
civ. 29, 30.) From a comparison of the preceding references, it will 
appear, that, according to Hebrew usage, the return of the spirit to 
God denotes simply death, and not a return to a state of happy existence 
with God after death. 

21. — whether it goeth upward, &c. This is the rendering of the 
Septuagint and all the ancient versions, as also of the Geneva Version, 
and of Luther. It appears to agree better with the Hebrew idiom, and 
with the connection, than that of the common Aversion. The term spirit 
in this verse is the same in the original as in ver. 19, where it is said 
that one spirit is in men and brutes. In both cases, I understand it as 
denoting the animal or vital spirit. It seems to me improbable, that, 
in a sentence so closely connected with ver. 19, there should be any 
change in the meaning of the term spirit, especially as it is here ap- 
plied to brutes as well as to men, and as the spirit of all mankind, the 
bad as well as the good, seems to be spoken of in comparison with that 
of brutes. The Preacher seems to me to express a doubt, whether man, 
whom he represents to be like the brutes in many respects, differs from 
them in this, that the spirit of men ascends upward, or returns to God, 
and that of brutes goes downward, or mingles with dust. I do not un- 
derstand him to refer to the personal, conscious immortality of either ; 
for, in ver. 19, he says, " One lot befalls both. As the one dies, so 
dies the other. Yea, there is one spirit in them, and a man has no pre- 
eminence above a beast.'' The doubt is, whether the vital spirit of 
man is more honorably disposed of after death than that of a brute. 
In ch. xii. 7, it is true, he positively affirms that the spirit of man 
" shall return to God.'' But it is not very probable that he doubts here 
what lie affirms there. The doubt is, whether any different disposition 
is made of the soul of a man and that of a brute ; whether the latter 
may not go upward as well as the former. The foregoing exposition 
of the passage seems to be confirmed by the inference which is drawn 
from it in ver. 22. If the writer had believed that man was distin- 
guished from beasts by a destiny to an immortal, conscious, desirable 
existence, and to a state of righteous retribution, and had, as many 
suppose, intended to express his surprise that so few regarded, as the 
writer did, the different destiny of the spirits of men and brutes, would 
his inference from the passage have been exactly what it is in ver. 
22 ? Is not this inference rather drawn from what the writer considers 
as the resemblance of man to the brutes in all the points in which he 
compares them ? It ought no^ to appear strange to any one, that the 



296 NOTES. 

writer did not believe in doctrines which had never been revealed tc 
him or to his countrymen. The other mode of understanding the 
verse is expressed in the paraphrase of Patrick : " As for the spirit, 
which makes all the difference between the beasts and us, that is invisi- 
ble ; and w^here shall we find a man, especially among those great 
persons spoken of before, who seriously considers it, and believes that 
the souls of all mankind go to God that gave them, to be judged by 
him, whereas the souls of beasts perish with them?" If we were to 
allow that wlio knows may here denote who considers or regards, the verse 
as thus expounded seems to be quite inconsistent with the writer's 
train of thought. (See the note on ch. xii. 7.) 

22. And therefore, considering that such is the vanity of human 
life, and that man in his condition and his end so much resembles the 
brutes, '' I was confirmed in my former opinion," ch. ii. 23, " that it 
is best for a man herein also to imitate the beasts, by enjoying fretly 
the good things God has blessed him withal, and taking aU the com- 
fort he can find in them at present, without solicitous care about the 
future ; for this is all he can be sure of: he shall not enjoy that here- 
after which he makes no use of now ; much less, when he is dead, can 
he be brought back again to take any pleasure in the fruit of all his 
labors, or see what becomes of them." Patrick. (See the note on 
ch. ii. 24.) 

Ch. IV. In this chapter, the author goes on to illustrate the vanity 
of human things, or the obstacles which prevent a tranquil and happy 
life, by referring to the sufferings of the oppressed; to the envy which 
is excited towards the prosperous ; to the evils of avarice and of soli- 
tude ; and those which attend royalty, arising from the infirmities of 
its possessor and the fickleness of the people. 

1. Then I turned ; i.e., from the preceding subject of contemplation 
and remark to that which follows. 

2, 3. (Comp. Jobiii. 11-23.) 

4. This also is vanity; namely, that an industrious and successful 
man should meet with envy and obloquy instead of good-will and 
applause. 

5. — eateth his own flesh. This may mean that the fool is so tor- 
mented with envy, that he is, as it were, consumed or devoured by it. 
So, bv i&v/LLov KariSuv, Hom. II. vi. 202: " Quisnam ilhc homo est, qui 
ipsus se comest, tristis, ocuhs malls'?" (Plant. Trucul. ii. 7, 36.) Ge- 
senius observes that such a man is called by the Arabs a devourer of 
himself; but he does not, as he ought, produce the proof o^ this asser- 



ECCLESIASTES. 297 

tion. Another meaning of the verse may be, that the fool, perceiving 
that diligence is attended with envy, goes to the opposite extreme of 
folding his hands and doing nothing, and thus is reduced to such pov- 
erty, that he is n^ady to eat his own flesh through extremity of hun- 
ger. This seems better suited to the connection. 

6. Better, &c. ; i.e, in reference to ver. 4, " Better is a moderate 
estate, gotten honestly with moderate diligence, and enjoyed hand- 
somely with perfect contentment, than the greatest treasures, gotten 
by oppression or with infinite toil, and enjoyed with anxious thoughts 
and fretting cares, and exposing a man either to the hatred or the envy 
of others/' I\itrick. 

7-12. In these verses is described the vanity of avarice, especially 
in one who lives in solitude, and has no near friend to whom he may 
leave his wealth. The state of solitude is then contrasted with the 
advantages of social and marri^ed life. 

8. [saith he]. The ellipsis of these words, for the sake of vivid repre- 
sentation, is not very unusual. The miser who is without descendants 
is represented as speaking. 

9. — good reward ; i.e., profitable results. By mutual counsel and 
assistance they effect much more than they could separately. 

12. — threefold cord, &c. No more than a bundle of arrows or 
sticks ; though each single thread, arrow, or stick may easily be 
broken. 

13. Better, &c. The author draws a new illustration of the vanity 
of human life from the contempt of royalty, when mental vigor is 
wanting in the possessor of it, and from the general uncertainty and 
inconstancy of popular favor towards kings. 

14. — out of prison; i.e., from a very low condition, as was not un- 
common in the despotisms of the East, and has not been uncommon in 
modern times. — such a one; i.e., one poor but wise. — for in his own 
kingdom, &c. ; i.e., that in which he afterwards reigned. 

15. — ivith the child ; i.e., following him, paying their court to him, 
worshipping the rising rather than the setting sun. — in his stead ; 
i.e., instead of the old and foolish king, ver. 13. 

16. — went forth; i.e., as a leader. — not rejoice in him; i.e., by rea- 
son of the love of novelty, the flattery of human hopes, and other cir- 
cumstances, they will be as weary of the successor, though a wise and 
wortliy prince, as their parents were of his foolish predecessor. 

Ch. Y.-XIT. The remainder of the book is chiefly preceptive, 
raiher than speculative. The author seems to be giving his advice as 

13* 



298 NOTES. 

to the way in which we may best pass through the hfe of vanity which 
he has described. 

1. Look well to thy feet, &c. ; i.e., Walk circumspectly. Make sure 
and straight steps. Engage in the services of religion with attention, 
seriousness, deliberation, and sincerity. The metaphor seems to be 
drawn from the condition of one who is walking in a very slippery 
path, in which more than ordinary care is necessary to keep him from 
falling. The expression will thus be similar to that of taking heed to 
ojie's ways. Some, however, suppose the metaphor to be drawn from 
the impropriety of entering the houses of the great with dirty feet ; 
others, from the practice of putting off the shoes on entering a sacred 
place. — to hear. To hear is often used in the sense of to obey. (See 
1 Sam. XV. 22.) In this place, it denotes to obey the law which is read, 
rather than simply to hear it, though the latter is implied. — as fools; 
who oifer splendid oblations as substitutes of piety and obedience. 
This does not imply that the writer regards the offering of sacrifice as 
itself folly, but only irreverent sacrifice, with no desire " to hear ^' or 
obey. 

2. — ivords be few. As you would not, if admitted to the presence 
of a king, use many words, words which are not weighed and chosen, 
much less should you multiply words, without care, thought, and rev- 
erence, in the presence of him who is higher than the highest. 

8. — with much bustle ; i.e., thoughtless and profitless activity. This 
rendering of the verse is strictly literal ; and the meaning is, that as a 
dream is attended with, sets forth, or brings forward, many thoughtless 
and trifling matters, so a fool utters many thoughtless and trifling 
words. (Comp. ver. 7.) The objection to the common version is, 1. 
That it requires too much to be supplied ; and, 2. That it neglects the 
studied antithesis of the original. It makes business the cause of the 
dream ; but the multitude of words is not the cause, but the conse- 
quence, of folly. In the Hebrew idiom, to come with is often used to 
denote to bring forward, to set forth. Ps. Ixvi. 13, Ixxi. 16, where / loilt 
come with thy mighty deeds, means, / ivill set forth, celebrate, thy mighty 
deeds. 

4, 5. (Comp. Numb. xxx. 2, &c. ; Deut. xxiii. 21, 22.) 
6. — to bring punishment, &c. So Hitzig, according to a Hebrew 
idiom, which is common in the noun. (Comp. in the Hebrew, Isa. 
xxix. 21.) The mouth, by uttering inconsiderate or false vows, might 
bring punishment on the body, on the whole man. — before the angel; 
possibly before the priest, regarded as the messenger of God, the an- 
nouncer of his will. (See Mai. ii. 7.) It may le, however, that there 



ECCLESIASTES. 299 

is reference to some angel, supposed to preside over the temple. 
(Comp. "angel of the Church'' in Eev. iii.) See Christian Exam- 
iner for November, 1838, pp. 210, 211. — It was a mistake; i.e., I 
made a mistake ; I acted foolishly and inconsiderately in making such 
a vow, and therefore hope God will excuse me from paying it. — the 
work of thy hands; i.e., the product of the work of thy hands, thy 
estate. 

7. —fear thou God; i.e., manifest thy fear of God by abstaining 
from rash and inconsiderate vows. 

8. — alarmed at the matter ; as though injustice would be finally tri- 
umphant, and sentence would never be executed against the evil work. 
— a higher, who watcheth ; i.e., over subordinate magistrates there is a 
higher, or the king, who will call them to account ; and over them all 
is God, who will bring every work of the king as well as of the sub- 
ject, into judgment. 

9. — a king over cultivated ground ; i.e., one who does not make his 
country desolate and barren by oppression. So the Sept. ^acLlevg rov 
uypov elpyaGfievov. ^^5J-; denotes tilled, in Ezek. xxxvi. 9, 21; Deut. 

xxi. 4. (See Fiirst's Lex.) The rendering adopted by me in the for- 
mer edition, " honored by the land,*' seems to be not sufficiently sanc- 
tioned by Hebrew usage. 

11. — that eat them. '' The more meat, the more mouths. The 
more men have, the better house they must keep; the more servants 
employ, the more guests entertain ; the more give to the poor, and the 
more will tliey have hanging on them ; for where the carcass is, the 
eagles will be. What we have more than food and raiment, we have 
for others ; and then what good is there to the owners themselves, but 
the pleasure of beholding them with their eyes 1 And a poor pleasure 
it is ; an empty speculation is all the difference between the owners 
and the sharers." Henry. 

" P. What riches give us, let us then inquire ; 

Meat, fire, and clothes. J5. What more? P. Meat, clothes, and fire. 

Is this too Uttle ? would you more than live ? " 

Pope's Moral Essays, Epist. iii. 79. 

" Congestis undique saccis 

Indormis inhians, et tanquam parcere sacris 
Cogeris, aut pictis tanquam gaudere tabellis." 

Hor. Sat i. 1, 70. 
*' On every side the numerous bags are piled, 
Whose hallowed stores must never be defiled 
To human use ; while you transported gaze, 
As if, like pictures, they were formed to please." 



300 NOTES. 

12. — repletion ; i.e., of his stomach with various dehcacies, more 
than can be digested. This is the literal rendering. Some, however, 
understand abundance of wealth, which brings cares and fears. 

" An vigilare metu exanimem, noctesque diesque 
Formidare malos fures, incendia, servos, 
Ne te compilent fugientes ; hoc juvat ? horum 
Semper ego optarim pauperrimus esse bonorum.'* Id. 76. 

"But, with continual watching almost dead, 
House-breaking thieves, and midnight fires to dread, 
Or the suspected slave's untimel}^ flight 
With the dear pelf; if this be thy delight, 
Be it my fate, so Heaven in bounty please, 
Still to be poor of blessings such as these." 

Francis's Translation. 

13. — to his hurt; by exposing him to danger from thieves, as repre 
sented in the last quotation from Horace ; or, by causing mental dis- 
tress when he loses them, as described in the next verse. 

14. — in his hand. There seems to be no consideration which de- 
cides conclusively whether his refers to the father, who, by calamity, 
is deprived of the power of leaving any thing to the son for whom he 
endured all his labors, or whether it refers to the son, wlio has nothing 
in his possession after his father's death. I incline to the former sup- 
position. 

15. These things, indeed, do not always happen ; but it is at least 
certain, that, though lie died possessed of all that he has acquired, yet 
he cannot carry one farthing away with him. (See Job i. 21 ; 1 Tim. 
vi. 7.) So Propertius, 1. iii, Eleg. 3, vs. 13, 14 : — 

*' Hand ullas portabis opes Acherontis ad undas, 
Nudus ab inferna, stulte, vehere rate." 

16. — for wind ; i.e., for riches, which are empty and unsatisfymg, 
uncertain and transitory, wdiich no man can retain more than he can 
wind. (Comp. Prov. xxiii. 5.) 

17. — he ate in darkness ; i.e.. Lived in disquietude, vexation, and 
fear. 

18. (See the note on ch. ii. 24.) — his portion; i.e., the use and en- 
joyment of one's possessions is all that can be truly called his own; 
all the good which he can receive from them. 

19. — gift of God; i.e., to the good man. (See ch. ii. 26.) 

20. — will not much remember, &c. He does not torment himself 
with useless grief about the past misfortunes of his life, which he can- 



ECCLESIASTES. 801 

not remedy, nor with vain anxiety about future ones, which he cannoi; 
avoid. — answereih him with; i.e., bestows upon him joy, as it were, 
in answer to his desires. Otherwise, occupieth him with, &c. 

Ch. VI. 1-6. The folly and misery of avarice ; of hoarding, with- 
out enjoying or using. 

1. — lieth heavy. (See viii. 6.) — God giveth him not to taste, &c. ; 
on account of his avaricious mind, his temper ever anxious about the 
future, his disposition to neglect the present use and enjoyment of his 
wealth. 

3. — his soul be not satisfied with good; i.e., if he have not a cheerful, 
contented mind, if he do not enjoy his property, &c. — and he have no 
burial; either because the strangers to whom his property is left have 
grudged him the expense of a decent burial, or because he has died 
in foreign lands, or drowned in a foreign sea, whither he had gone 
in quest of wealtli. How much importance the Hebrews attached to 
a decent burial appears from Isa. xiv. 19, 20; Job xxvii, 19; Ps. 
Ixxix. 2. 

4. — Cometh in nothingness; i.e., the abortion has no real existence as 
a human being. — goeth down into darkness ; i.e., is immediately buried, 
put out of sight. — its name is covered, &c. ; i.e., no mention is made 
of it. 

6. — and see no good, &c. ; i.e., enjoy no good, have no enjoyment 
of the good things of life. — to one place ; i.e., the grave. And if they 
who live long have no enjoyment of life, it follows that they who die 
soonest have the most rest. " Omnes eodem cogimur." (Hor. Carm. 
ii. 3, 25.) 

" Serius aut citius sedem properamus ad unam ; 
Tendimus hue omnes; haec est domus "ultima." 

Ovid. Metam. x. 33, 34. 

7. — for his mouth, &c. Altliough all that a man can get by his 
labors is food necessary for the support of life (see ch. v. 11, and tlie 
note), yet such is the vanity of the world and the folly of mankind, 
that the desires of men are insatiable. 

8. For what advantage, &c. The most natural meaning of this verse 
seems to be this : Since the support of life, or meat, clothes, and fire, 
is the chief advantage of wealth, what advantage has the wise man 
over the fool, or what advantage has the poor man who knows how to 
walk before the living, i.e., who is ingenious, enterprising, knowing 
how to gain tlie favor of the rich over the poor man who is destitute 
of these advantages, who does not know how to walk before the living? 



302 NOTES. 

For the most foolish, and the most ignorant and rude of the poor, can, 
hy the labor of their hands, find bread to fill their mouths, &c. 

9. — sight of the eyes, &c. ; i.e., the enjoyment, the making the best, 
of what is present is better than the wandering of the soul after things 
at a distance, and affecting a variety of imaginary gratifications w^hich 
usually end in vexation. 

10. That which is; i.e., relating to man. — was long ago called hy 
name. The meaning of this sentence is not very obvious. It seems, 
however, to intimate that the condition and fortunes of every man are 
known and appointed by the Almighty ; that they depend more upon 
an established course of things than upon his personal striving. ( Comp. 
ch. iii. 1-9.) Hence the folly of excessive exertion and anxiety. 
Others suppose the meaning to be, Man is fi:'ail, earthy, mortal, ac- 
cording to the name Adam, which God gave him when he formed him 
out of the dust; Adam being supposed to denote earth. (Gen. ii. 7.) 

11. — increase vanity, &c. Ver. 11 and 12 seem to be added as a 
conclusion of all that he has said respecting the toil, care, and anxiety 
which what are called the good things of this life bring with them. 
(Comp. ver. 8 and the note.) 

12. — after him under the sun ; i.e., he knows not who shall possess 
his acquisitions, or whether the future owners of his possessions will 
use or abuse them. Whence it follows, that it is best for a man to live 
a tranquil, unambitious life, agreeably to ver. 7-9. (See ii. 18; iii. 
22; xii. 14.) 

Ch. VII. 1-VIII. 13. The design of this portion is to give cer- 
tain proverbs or precepts for the guidance, consolation, or support of 
men in their passage through the world, whose vanity he has de- 
scribed, and continues to set forth by incidental remarks. The gen- 
eral purport of these precepts is to inculcate the necessity of regulating 
our thoughts, dispositions, desires, even to an extent which may seem 
paradoxical to the mass of mankind, and conforming them to the course 
of things, or the appointments of the Creator. For precepts, just, com- 
prehensive, and complete, having a certain resemblance to those of the 
Preacher, see the Sermon on the Mount. 

1. — precious -perfume; such as was used in the East, as a part of 
personal comfort, elegance, and dress. " The custom of anointing with 
oil or perfume was also common among the Greeks and Romans, es- 
pecially the anointing of guests at feasts and other entertainments.'' 
(See Potter's Grec. Ant., vol. ii. p. 385; Adam's Rom. Ant., p. 144; 
Hor. Od., ii. 7, 11 ; iii. 29 ; Joseph. Ant., xix. 4, 1, and 9, 1 ; Iliad, xiv. 



ECCLESIASTES. 303 

171.) The same custom is still prevalent in the East. Tavernier says, 
that " among the Arabs olive-oil is regarded as a very agreeable pres- 
ent. When any one offers it to them, they immediately take off their 
turban, and anoint their head, face, and beard, raising their eyes to 
heaven at the same time, and exclaiming, ' Thanks be to God.^'" (Eo- 
senmiil. A. ii. N. Morgenland, vol. iv. p. 117.) — day of one^s death. 
Since life is so full of vexation and misery, it is a more desirable thing 
for a man to go out of it than to come into it, although it is the prac- 
tice of almost all mankind to celebrate their own or children's birthdays 
with solemn feasts and rejoicings, and their deaths with all expressions 
of sorrow. 

2. — for thai; i.e., death. In Schultens's Anthologia, &c., is the fol- 
lowing sentiment of an Arabic poet : — 

** When thou hearest lameatations for the dead, he there ! 
But, if thou art invited to a feast, he ware ! " 

See Ros. ad loc. 

4. The heart of the wise, &c. ; even when their bodies are absent. 
There is no inconsistency between this remark and those passages 
which inculcate the enjoyment of the present; because by the enjoy- 
ment of the present the writer means not sensual or riotous pleasure, 
but the grateful use of the good which Heaven sends, in opposition to 
excessive striving and anxiety about the future. 

5. — song of fools ; i.e., the music, songs, and jests of merry compan- 
ions, which are commonly regarded as delightful. 

6. — crackling of thorns ; which make a great noise and blaze, as if 
they would produce a mighty heat, but leave the water as cold, as they 
found it. — laughter of a fool ; i.e., quickly passing away, doing no 
good, but rather terminating in a sad silence. 

7. — the gain of oppression. From speaking of fools, the Preacher 
is led to a particular instance of folly, namely, the grasping at unjust 
gain, bribes, &c., which take away from wise men their judgment and 
reason. (Comp. Exod. xxiii. 8; Deut. xvi. 19 ; Prov. xv. 27.) 

8. Better is the end. If this verse is connected in sense with the pre- 
ceding, the meaning is, that the end of the practice of bribery will show 
that he who takes it is not a gainer by it. But as there is often no con- 
nection between one proverb and the preceding, the meaning may be 
general, that we cannot judge well of things till they are brought to i\ 
conclusion. Some things, which are pleasant and promising at first, 
end in ruin ; and some things, difficult and painful at first, have a 
happy termination. — patient in spirit; who quietly waits for the end 



804 NOTES. 

of things. — proud in spirit; pride being the chief cause of impa- 
tience. Or this last line may be understood more generally. 

9. — anger resteth; i.e., dwells, has its abode; is ever at hand on all 
occasions. 

10. In this verse the Preacher condemns a querulous, repining 
spirit, which indulges itself in unavailing wishes that it had lived in 
what it regards the good old times, instead of accommodating itself to 
the present state of things. Perhaps complaints even against the Gov- 
ernor of the world may be referred to. This spirit has been common 
in all ages. (Comp. Hor. Ars Poet., 173.) 

" Difficilis, querulus, laudator temporis acti 
Se puero, censor castigatorque minorum." 

The notion of the superiority of former ages is still prevalent in the 
East. " The Hindoos have four ages, which nearly correspond with the 
golden, silver, brazen, and iron ages of the Western heathen. In the 
first age, called Kretlia, they say the corn sprang up spontaneously, 
and required no attention ; in the second, named Treatha, the justice 
of kings and the blessings of the righteous caused it to grow ; in the 
third, called Tuvara, rain produced it ; but in this, the fourth age, 
called Kally, many works have to be done to cause it to grow. * Our 
fathers,' say they, ' had three harvests in the year : the trees also gave 
an abundance of fruit. Where is now the cheapness of provisions 1 
the abundance of fish? the fruitful flocks'? the rivers of milk? the 
plenty of water ? Where the pleasures ? Where the docility of ani- 
mals ? Where the righteousness, the truth, and aflection ? Where 
the riches, the peace, the plenty ? Where the mighty men 1 Where 
the chaste and beautiful mothers, with their fifteen or sixteen children ? 
Alas, alas ! they are all fled.'" (Roberts's Illustrations ad loc.) 

11. — as good, &c. ; it is as desirable to possess wisdom as to in- 
herit a fortune ; yea, even more so. — that see the sun ; i.e., that live. 

12. — giveth life, &c. ; literally, vivijieth ; i.e., makes them flourish- 
ing, contented, happy. So the noun life is used in Prov. iv. 22, 23; 
xii. 28, and many other places. " It marvellously supports, revives, 
and comforts the souls of those who are owners of it, under all the 
evils which it could not help them by honest means to avoid." Pat 
rich. 

13. From the praise of wisdom the Preacher passes to the principal 
exercise of it, namely, the contemplation of the providence of God. 
— the work of God ; i.e., what God doeth ; i.e., in the circumstances and 
events which we witness. We are instructed in this verse to regard 



ECCLESIASTES. 305 

our condition as appointed by God, and to suit our minds to it ; for we 
cannot bring things to our minds, and therefore it is best to strive to 
conform our minds to our condition, whether it be one of prosperity or 
adversity. 

14. — he joyful, (See the note on ch. ii. 24.) — looh for a day of 
adversity. So I translate, because I doubt whether the verb h5^^, 

*^ T T 

which literally means to see, is ever used to denote what we understand 
by the term consider. It would be against the author's views to recom- 
mend anxiety about the future ; but it is not anxiety to remember in 
the day of prosperity that it may not always last. We are the better 
prepared to endure the storm when it comes, if we remember that 
sooner or later it will come to all. — what shall be after him ; i.e., God 
has ordained that prosperity and adversity shall succeed each other in 
the course of men's lives, so that they cannot foresee what shall take 
place in the future, or after they have left the world, and thus may live 
in constant dependence upon God, and submission to his will. (Comp. 
vi. 12.) 

15. All this ; i.e. All that I have mentioned, and am about to men- 
tion. — my days of vanity ; i.e., my vain life. — in their righteousness ; 
or, by their righteousness. The meaning assigned to ver. 15, 16, and 
17, by Patrick, in his paraphrase, seems to me as probable as any : 
** It seems very hard that a just man's integrity should not be able to 
preserve him, but he is therefore perhaps destroyed because he is bet- 
ter than others, when a wicked man escapes, nay, is countenanced and 
encouraged, or suffered to prolong his days in (and perhaps by) his 
wickedness. But besides other things which may be replied to this 
(as that good men are sometimes removed from, and wicked reserved 
unto, future evils), it must be noted also, that some pious men are 
more strict and rigid than they need be, and not so prudent as they 
ought to be, but necessarily expose themselves to danger. And there- 
fore it is good advice, in order to a safe and quiet passage through this 
life, to be temperate in thy zeal, and not to overdo, either by extend- 
ing thy own duty beyond the divine commandment, or by correcting 
the inveterate vices of others, and opposing the vulgar opinions too 
severely or unseasonably, whereby they are only exasperated and en- 
raged, but not at all amended ; for why should a man bring a mischief 
upon himself without any benefit unto others ? And, on the other side, 
let not impunity tempt any man to presume to grow so enormously 
wicked and foolish as to embrace and follow the lewdest opinions ; for 
this may awaken the public justice against him, even for the common 



806 NOTES. 

safety ; or the divine vengeance, nay, his own excessive wickedness, 
may cut him oflf before he come to the natural term of his life." 
Rosenm tiller supposes these precepts to have particular reference to 
judges and rulers in the administration of laws. But this supposition 
does not seem to be supported by verse 17. 

18. — take hold of this ; i.e., the counsel about avoiding wickedness 
and folly, ver. 17. — from that; i.e., the advice in ver. 16. — escape, 
&c. For 1^^^ with the accusative, see Gen. xhv. 4 ; Exod. ix. 29, 33 ; 

Amos iv. 3 The rendering shall make his way, i.e., order his life, 
which Stuart adopts from Hitzig, seems to me more forced than the 
somewhat unusual construction which it aims to avoid. To walk 
means to order the life ; but to come out has not this meaning. — all 
those things; i.e., the extremes which have been mentioned, and their 
evil consequences. 

21. Give no heed, &c. Lord Bacon, as quoted by Patrick ad loc, 
thus remarks on this verse : '' It is a matter almost beyond belief, what 
disturbance is created by unprofitable curiosity about those things that 
concern our personal interest ; that is, when we make a too scrupulous 
inquiry after such secrets, which, once disclosed and found out, do but 
cause a disquiet of mind, and nothing conduce to the advancing of our 
designs. For, first, there follows vexation and disquiet of mind ; 
human aflairs being so full of treachery and ingratitude, that, if there 
could be procured a magical glass in which we might behold the 
hatreds and whatsoever malicious contrivances are anywhere raised 
up against us, it would be better for us if such a glass were forthwith 
thrown away and broken in pieces. For things of this nature are like 
the murmurs of the leaves of trees, which in a short time vanish ! 
Secondly, This curiosity loads the mind too much with suspicions and 
ungrounded jealousies ; which is the most capital enemy to counsels, 
and renders them inconstant and involved. Thirdly, The same curi- 
osity doth sometimes fix those evils which otherwise of themselves 
would pass by us and fly away. For it is a dangerous thing to irritate 
the consciences of men ; who, if they think themselves to lie undis- 
covered, are easily changed for the better ; but, if they perceive them- 
selves to be detected, drive out one mischief by another. And there- 
fore it was deservedly esteemed the highest wisdom in Pompey the 
Great, that he instantly burnt all Sertorius^s papers, unperused by him- 
self, or suffered to be seen by others." — "Be not soHcitous or inquisi- 
tive to know what people say of thee : if they speak well of thee, it 
will feed thy pride ; if ill, it will stir up thy passion." Henry» 



ECCLESIASTES. 307 

23. — it was far from me; i.e., I fell far short of the perfection -of 
wisdom to which I aspired. 

24. — far offj &c. ; i.e., perfect wisdom, a knowledge of the reasons 
of all that occurs in the world. (Comp. ch. i. 13.) 

25. — wickedness and folly ^ &c. Otherwise, to know wickedness as 
folly, and folly as madness. This could scarcely be said to be the pur- 
pose, though it would be the certain result, of diligent investigation. 
The result of the Preacher's investigation seems to be in the next 
verse. 

27. — to find out knowledge; perhaps, the computation, result, or conclu- 
sion, 

28. — is this ; namely, a wise and virtuous woman. This is spoken 
in conformity with the Oriental notions of the female sex. ( See Job 
xiv. 1, and the note.) 

29. — God made man upright. That man is used in the collective 
sense, denoting all mankind, including especially the men and women 
who are just before mentioned, is evident from the plural verb, they 
have sought out. — devices; i.e., perverse and evil pursuits. Jerome 
remarks on this passage : " Ne videretur communem hominum dam- 
nare naturam, et Deum auctorem facere maU, dum talium conditor est 
qui malum vitare non possint, argute praecavit, et ait, bonos nos a Deo 
creates ; sed quia Ubero sumus arbitrio derelicti, vitio nostro ad pejora 
labi, dum majora quaerimus, et ultra vires nostras varia cogitamus.'* 

Ch. YIII. 1. — hrighteneth his countenance; i.e., enlivens it, makes 
it cheerful and mild, beaming kindness. (Comp. Ps. Ixxx. 3, 7, 19.) 

2. — oath of God; i.e., the oath of allegiance to the king, which you 
called God to witness. 

3. — to depart from his presence; i.e., in dislike or discontent, quit- 
ting his service or obedience. — persist not, &c. Less probably, stand 
not up ; i.e., show no resentment, on account of a grievous word. 

4. — powerful; i.e., he has instruments enough to execute all he 
commands, and there is none to call him to account for his conduct. 

5. — time and judgment. Most modern interpreters translate time 
and manner ; i.e., a wise man will attempt to correct what he sees to be 
wrong in government, only at a fit time and in the best way. He will 
not be rash and violent in opposition to the powers that be. The pas- 
sage thus has a good meaning. But it is doubtful whether this signi- 
fication, manner, be justified by the usage of the term tj5d?2 in the 
Scriptures. In this book it has a different sense in all other passages 



808 NOTES. 

in which it occurs. Tlie word time seems also to be used in a peculiar 
way. Tlius, in ch. iii. 17, ''Eor there shall be a time for every em- 
ployment and for every work.^' Here the connection seems to require 
us to understand a time of judgment. So, in ch. ix. 12, " Man knoweth 
not his time;'* -'lq., the time when calamity or death shall come upon 
him. So, in Job xxiv. 1, the term denotes the time when one may 
experience the evil consequences of imprudence, rashness, or mis- 
conduct. Judgment, it is well known, often denotes retribution or 
punishment. 

6. For to every thing there is a time and Judgment ; i.e., time when the 
consequences of it shall be experienced, and retribution take place. 
(See the note on the preceding verse.) Otherwise, time and manner, 
in the sense above referred to. — the misery, &c. Otherwise, the 
ivickedness, &c. 

8. We need not seek for any closer connection of this verse with 
the preceding than to suppose it an illustration of human misery, men- 
tioned in ver. 6, or of man's ignorance of the future, in his being unable 
to predict the day of his death. — the spirit; i.e., his vital spirit, 
breath of life. (See ch. iii. 19.) Otherwise, the wind. — discharge, 
&c. ; in the conflict between life and death, all must engage, and all be 
subdued. 

9. — to his hurt; i.e., to the injury and oppression of the governed. 
Man oppresses his fellow-man. 

10. — the wicked buried; i.e., I saw those who deserved infamy ob- 
taining an honorable burial. The Hebrews held the burial of the dead 
to be a subject of the utmost importance. To be cast out unburied 
was considered as in the highest degree ignominious and terrible. 
(Isa. xiv. 19, 20; Jer. vii. 33, xxii. 19.) — came and went from the holy 
place; i.e., came into life and went out of it, from the sacred city of 
Jerusalem, or perhaps from the royal palace. The verb signifying 
to go, in Hebrew, as in the Greek, English, and other languages, is 
often used as a euphemism to denote death. — were forgotten ; i.e., did 
not receive that place in the memory of their fellow-citizens which 
their virtues deserved. (Comp. Isa. Ivii. 1.) The sentiment of the 
verse I understand to be similar to that in ver. 14. In regard to the 
rendering, the righteous, literally, they who did right, the Hebrew word 
*^2 means right, or so, according to the connection. (Comp. Numb. 

xxxvii. 7; 2 Kings vii. 9.) Those who prefer the latter rendering 
will regard the whole verse as relating to the wicked. It will then 
refer to ill-gotten or ill-used honor and power. They who possess 



ECCLESIASTES. 309 

the highest degrees of either will soon come to the grave and be for- 
gotten. 

11. Because sentence, &c. ; i.e., of retribution, punishment. (Comp. 
ch. xii. 14. ) The sentiment of this verse is of universal application 
in regard to evil-doers, but probably refers in this place more particu- 
larly to tyrants. 

12. — and have his days prolonged; i.e., in or by his wickedness. 
(Comp. ch. vii. 15.) Or, though no evil happen to him for a long 
time. The verse evidently refers to retribution in this life, as appears 
from tlie next verse. 

13. — shall not prolong his days ; i.e., he shall come to a sudden and 
violent end. (Comp. Prov. x. 27 ; Ps. Iv. 23.) Some understand this 
verse as an imprecation, in order to avoid a seeming inconsistency be- 
tween it and the last. But the wicked may have his days prolonged 
for a time, and yet come to an untimely end. (Comp. pp. 105-109.) 

Ch. VIII. 14 -IX. 10. In this section the Preacher goes on to 
illustrate the vanity of earthly things, as exhibited in the apparently 
equal prosperity of the righteous and the wicked, and the difficulty of 
understanding the Divine proceedings in the affairs of the world. He 
repeats and farther illustrates these ideas, and proceeds to recommend 
the present enjoyment of life's blessings as wiser than to live in anxiety 
about distant good, or perplexity about the mysteries of human aflairs. 
(See p. 117.) 

14. On the consistency of this sentiment with the preceding verses, 
see pp. 105-109. 

15. Then I commended joy , &c. Some understand this as the cavil 
of an objector, but without reason. The meaning is. Since a man has 
so little power over his condition, since he can understand so little of 
the reasons upon which the outward condition of the righteous and 
the wicked is allotted, it is best for him not to perplex and torment 
himself about these seeming disorders of the world, but to live in 
cheerfulness and tranquillity, freely enjoying the present good things 
which are allotted him, without anxious cares respecting the distant 
future, or painful efforts to discover the reasons of the Divine proceed- 
ings. (Comp. ch. ii. 24, and the note.) — it is this that abideth with 
him, &c. ; i.e., the use and enjoyment of what a man obtains by his 
labor is all that can properly be called his own. Whatever estate, 
possession, &c., he may acquire will be left to others. The use and 
enjoyment only are his own. 

16. — to know wisdom,, and to see the business, &c. ; i.e., to advance 



310 • NOTES. 

myself in wisdom, and to observe the vain and wearisome labors of 
men. I suppose that wisdom^ in this verse, refers particularly to a 
knowledge of the causes and reasons of the Divine proceedings ; and 
that to see the business which is done is pursued for the purpose of finding 
out the work of God, as mentioned in the next verse, and the mysteries 
of his government of the world. — doth one see sleep with his eyes. The 
restless, anxious activity of men in general is denoted. Some trans- 
late, doth it, i.e., the mind, see sleep with its eyes; but this seems to be too 
harsh a metaphor. 

17. — the whole work of God; i.e., the method and reasons of his pro- 
ceedings in administering the affairs of the world ; why, for instance, 
he suffers the wicked to prosper and the virtuous to be oppressed, as in 
ver. 9, 14. This the Preacher maintains to be beyond the comprehen- 
sion of man. — is done, namely, by God in his providence. 

Ch. IX. 1. — in the hand of God, This phrase denotes sometimes, 
to he in the power of God; sometimes, to be under his protecting care. Both 
senses are applicable here. — yet neither his love nor hatred doth any man 
know ; i.e., from the good or bad outward condition of a man it cannot 
be determined whether God loves or hates him. — all is before them ; 
reserved in the dark, uncertain future. 

2. All [cometh to them] as to all; i.e., to the righteous as to all other 
men. *' Eor there is no certain and constant distinction made between 
one man and another in the distribution of things in this world ; but 
they all fare alike, especially in public calamities. A righteous man, for 
instance, perishes in a battle as well as the wicked ; he that keeps 
himself pure and undefiled dies in a pestilence as well as the filthy and 
unclean ; he that worships God in sincerity and truth suffers by 
storms, shipwrecks, and inundations, &c., as well as a profane person 
or a hypocrite : and, on the contrary, a blasphemer of God, nay, a per- 
jured wretch, prospers and thrives as much as he that dreads the holy 
name of God, and dare not rashly, much less falsely, take it into his 
mouth." Patrick. The rendering of Stuart, " all are like to all," 
does not well accord with the meaning of nrfi^S, Uterally, according to 

what, that which, is to all. In regard to the seeming inconsistency of 
the Preacher, see the Introduction (pp. 105, 106, &c.). — to the clean, and 
to the unclean. There is probably reference here to legal purity or im- 
purity, according to the statutes of the Mosaic code. Of the difficulty 
in regard to the Divine government arising from the facts which he 
here states, the author proposes no solution. He says expressly, that 



ECCLESIASTES. 311 

he cannot find out or comprehend the work of God in regard to it. 
The solution which occurs to the mind of the Christian does not appear 
to have occurred to him. He seems rather to deny a future hfe in the 
following verses, namely, 5 and 6. A Christian, stating such facts, 
would naturally be led to speak of a retribution after death, and to 
excite his readers to look to it, as a motive to perseverance in well- 
doing, and a relief to his doubts or diflBlculties relating to the govern- 
ment of God. The only inference which the author seems to draw 
from the perplexing facts which he states is, that it is best to give up 
all anxiety about such dark and difficult subjects, and to enjoy the 
good things of life while they last. Erom what the writer asserts, and 
from what he omits in the first ten verses of this chapter, it seems very 
doubtful whether he had any belief in a desirable future life, or a state 
of retribution after death. Some writers among the Jews and Chris- 
tians have supposed these verses to be spoken in the character of an 
impious Epicurean. But there seems to be no ground for this supposi- 
tion. The writer is speaking of what he himself searched out (ver. 1), 
and not of what an objector might say. On the difficulty presented 
by this passage and similar ones, in relation to the mode in which the 
author reconciles the sentiments contained in it with his own doctrine 
of retribution as elsewhere expressed, " that it shall be well with them 
that fear God,'' and that ** it shall not be well with the wicked,'' and 
that '* God will bring every work into the judgment, which there is 
upon every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil," 
ch. viii. 12, 13; xii. 14, — see the Introduction (pp. 105-109). 

3. — madness, &c. ; i.e., great wickedness. The sentiment of the 
verse is the same as that in ch. viii. 11. — and afterward; i.e., after 
the vicissitudes of life. — thei/ go down to the dead. This may be added 
to illustrate the vanity of human things, or to illustrate the sentiment, 
that a common lot happens to the righteous and the wicked ; both being 
under the necessity of going down to the dead. 

4. For who is there that is excepted; i.e., exempted from death. 
^- there is hope. However miserable may be a man's condition while 
living, he has this advantage over the dead, that he can hope for a 
change for the better. (Comp. Job vii. 6-10.) 

6. — know that they shall die. They know that they must die, and 
of course they know and feel that they are alive, and may have much 
enjoyment before death arrives. — advantage ; i.e., from their pos- 
sessions, &c., all of which are left to their heirs. — for their memory is 
forgotten; i.e., so far are tliey from having any enjoyment of their pos 
sessions, that it is altogether forgotten by their successors that such 
persons ever lived. 



312 NOTES. 

6. — which taketh place under the sun. Some have erroneously sup- 
posed that this expression is used in contradistinction to another world, 
in which the dead might have a portion. But the phrase is not used 
in this emphatic sense. Thus, in ch. i. 9, the author says, " There is 
no new thing under the sun." (See also ch. ii. 18.) When I consider 
that this description of death, as the end of man's activity, faculties, 
feelings, and enjoyments, is made without any qualification ; that it 
follows the statement of the mysterious conduct of Providence in allot- 
ting the condition of the righteous and the wicked ; and that, instead 
of being followed by any reference to a future life, by way of encour- 
agement to the virtuous, or of terror to the wicked, or of explanation 
of the Divine proceedings, it makes the certainty of death only a motive 
for enjoying the present life, while it lasts, — it is very difiicult for me 
to believe, that the doctrine of a desirable future life, or of a retribution 
after death, was a part of the faith of the Preacher. ( See the caption 
to Job xii.) 

7. Go thy way, &c. " And therefore, shaking oflf both all anxious 
cares, and also all perplexing thoughts about God's providence (ver. 1), 
excite thyself by the remembrance of death to a cheerful enjoyment 
of those good things present which thou justly possessest; use them, 
while thou hast them, with a well-pleased, contented, nay, joyful 
mind.'' Patrick. (Comp. ch. ii. 24, and the note.) — for long since 
hath God been pleased with thy works; i.e., with thy labors, and given 
them success ; and, by giving you the means of cheerful enjoyment, 
shown his intention that you should use them. 

8. — garments be always white. This is an exhortation to cheerful- 
ness and joy ; as it was the custom for the rich and powerful to robe 
themselves in white cotton, especially on festival days. (See Jahn's 
Archaeology, § 119 ; also Esther viii. 15; Rev. iii. 4, 5; vi. 11. See 
also Hor., Sat. ii. 2, 60.) 

" Ille repotia. natales, aliosve dierum 
Festos albatus celebret." 

— fragrant oil; which it was the custom of the Hebrews to pour upon 
their heads on days of rejoicing and festivity. (See Isa. Ixi. 3 ; Amos 
vi. 6 ; Ps. xxiii. 5.) 

9. Enjoy life with the wife whom thou lovest. " Seek for such a wife as 
thou canst love ; and, when thou hast her, dehght thyself in her com- 
pany, with such unalterable kindness as may help to sweeten the 
afflictions to which we are subject." Patrick. — thy portion; the en- 
joyment of what you obtain by your labor is all that you can call your 



ECCLESIASTES. 318 

own. You can take nothing with you when you go down to the grave. 
(See eh. viii. 15.) *'Here is a new proof that this is not the speech 
of voluptuaries ; for they love not to be confined to a wife, as the 
Preacher here advises this happy man to be ; making her his partner 
in all the joys and comforts he hath, as she will be in his grief and 
sorrows." Patrick. 

10. — thy hand Jindeth to do; i.e., what thou hast opportunity and 
ability to do at present, without scheming and anxiety respecting the 
future. Here the Preacher makes it evident, that he does not persuade 
men to an idle and sensual life, but only to a sober enjoyment of their 
blessings in an industrious prosecution of their vocations. 

Ch. IX. 11 -XI. 6. The Preacher now adduces a new illustration 
of the vanity of human life in the circumstances, that success does not 
always answer to a man's strength, wisdom, and other advantages ; 
and that wisdom, with all its benefits to the public, often brings but 
little consideration to its possessor. He adds various proverbs showing 
the advantages of wisdom and prudence. He speaks of the evil oil 
rulers unfit for their stations, and gives various maxims for the regu- 
lation of conduct in private and public. This section closes with a 
recommendation of liberality to the poor, and diligent exertion, without 
an over-anxious solicitude respecting the issue of our labors. 

11. — nor favor to men of knowledge; i.e., the esteem and respect of 
mankind are not always gained by the wise. Sometimes neglect, 
envy, and hatred are their portion. — time and chance. In this con- 
nection the author has in mind a time of misfortune, an unfortunate 
chance or occurrence. Lord Bacon, as quoted by Patrick, remarks 
upon the maxim, "Faber quisque fortunae suae, "Every man makes 
his own fortune/' that we ought to look upon it as " an insolent and 
unlucky saying, except it be uttered as an hortative or spur to correct 
sloth. For otherwise, if it be believed as it sounds, and a man enters 
into a high imagination that he can compass and fathom all accidents, 
and ascribes all successes to his own drift and reaches, and the con- 
trary to his errors and slippings, it is a profane speech ; and it is com- 
monly seen, that the evening fortune of that man is not so prosperous 
as of him that, without slacking his industry, attributeth mu(th to 
felicity and providence above him." 

12. — hioweth not his time. We need not confine this remark exclu- 
sively to the time of one's death. It more probably refers to the tim-s 
of any misfortune or calamity. Some understand it in the sense of 
suitable time or opportunity; evKaLptav. 

u 



814 NOTES. 

13. — even wisdom; i.e., I have observed the nature and effects of 
wisdom, and estimated its exceeding value. 

15. — yet no man remembered, &c. ; i.e., no man thought of him after 
the danger was past. Thus the remark in ver. 11 is illustrated, that 
favor is not always to the wise. 

17. — are sooner heard; i.e., in times of danger and distress, though 
they may be disregarded in times of prosperity. — foolish ; literally, 
who is among fools. So in Ps. cxviii. 7, the literal rendering is, Jehovah 
is among my helpers ; i.e., Jehovah is my helper, ( See Gesen. Lex. on the 
preposition S.) 

18. But one offender ; i.e., against the rules of wisdom and prudence, 
as the connection seems to require. One man, by his rashness and 
imprudence, may bring ruin, not only upon himself, but upon many, 
even upon whole nations. 

Ch. X. 1. — nauseous; more ^iYioXXy, fetid. — a little folly. The 
Preacher seems in this verse to intend to illustrate the evil which a 
foolish man may occasion to the cause in which he is engaged, rie is 
a marplot, and often does more mischief than many wise counsellors 
can remedy. Otherwise, a little folly in the wise man destroys the 
fruits of his own wisdom, and ruins his reputation. The rendering of 
the Common Version, which has no better support from the Hebrew 
than mine, is less agreeable to the connection. 

2. — wise man's mind; literally, ^ear?, which was regarded as the seat 
of the mind by the Hebrews, as the brain is by the moderns. — ai his 
right hand ; i.e., he can use his mind to some purpose, can exercise a 
ready judgment on every occasion ; as men in general can readily and 
efficiently use their right hand, but not their left. 

3. — walketh in the way. I should understand this literally of the 
gait, behavior, and talk of a person, as he passes through the streets. 
— saith, &c. ; i.e., by his behavior, that he is himself a fool. Otlier- 
wise, saith of every one, &c., he thinks and declares that all are fools 
except himself. 

4. — leave not thy place; i.e., in anger and discontent. Do not aban- 
don his service hastily and rashly, but continue in the faithful and quiet 
discharge of the duties of thy station. (Comp. ch. viii. 3.) — great 
offences; i.e., such as he supposes thou hast committed against him. 
Let not, therefore, a false opinion of implacability make thee des- 
perate, and draw thee into rebellion. 

6. — from a ruler; in appointing unworthy and incapable persons 



ECCLESIASTES. 315 

to places of honor and power; or in suffering them to rise to such 
places. 

6. — set in many high stations ; i.e., raised to honorable stations. 
— the noble ; in character, birth, and advantages of possessing wisdom, 
which it is here presumed that they have used. " Many kings," says 
Grotius, " suspect those who are distinguished for nobility or wisdom 
or wealth." " Aliena ilhs virtus formidolosa est," " The virtue of 
others is feared by them." Sallust, 

7. — servants upon horses; i.e., slaves who had been raised from their 
servile condition to such eminent stations, that they rode upon horses. 
Riding upon horses was regarded as the privilege of the higher ranks 
in the East. (See Jer. xvii. 25; Ezek. xxiii. 23.) — princes; i.e., 
persons of high rank and former opulence, who have been depressed 
by the injustice of the ruler. It has been observed by several writers, 
that persons of high rank and opulence in the East, at the present day, 
are distinguished from their inferiors by riding on horseback when they 
go abroad ; while those of meaner stations, if not on foot, are obhged 
to content themselves with the ass or the mule. 

8. He that diggeth a pit, &c. The proverbs which follow (to ver. 
20) have been supposed to be cautions against sedition and rebellion 
against kings, having reference to ver. 4. But such an application of 
them is rather forced and arbitrary. It seems more probable that they 
are general maxims for the wise conduct of life, in the midst of the 
vanities and dangers of the world, which the Preacher has described. 
(See Prov. xxvi. 27.) — breaketh down a wall; i.e., with the design of 
stealing fruits. — a serpent ; such as is usually found in hedges. The 
proverb shows the evil consequences of dishonesty to him that prac- 
tises it. 

9. Whoso removeth stones, &c. ; i.e., from their earth-bed great stones, 
for the handling of which their strength is insufficient. The design of 
both the proverbs in this verse is to show that rash and imprudent 
men, who engage in difficult and dangerous undertakings, often injure 
themselves thereby. — cleaveth wood, Szc. This proverb amounts to 
the same thing with the common one, that it is dangerous to meddle 
with edge-tools. 

10. If the iron be blunt, &c. " This is sufficient to show how unprofit- 
able all our endeavors are without true judgment. For as a rusty tool, 
though managed by the strongest man, is so far from effecting his de- 
sires that it only tires his arm, unless he file and whet it to recover its 
edge ; so all the power in the world rather hurts than advantages him 
that has it, unless it be guided and directed by prudence." Patrick 
(See ch. ix. 16, 18.) 



316 NOTES. 

\l,Ifa serpent bite, &,c. This proverb is in commendation of wis- 
dom. As the poison of the serpent is avoided only by the utmost care 
and circumspection, so is it with the dangers arising from intercourse 
with men. It is equivalent to the common one, that an ounce of pre- 
vention is worth a pound of cure. It is too late to begin to enchant 
when the poisonous bite is given. Perhaps there may be reference to 
the avoiding of danger from the powerful by turning away their wrath 
with conciliating language. (See the next verse.) — the charmer, liter- 
ally, the lord of the tongue, has in this case no advantage from his art, 
but rather severe injury. (Comp. Sirach xii. 13; Ps. Iviii. 4, 6; Jer. 
viii. 17.) For some very remarkable accounts given by travellers in 
Egypt and the East, respecting the power which certain persons pos- 
sess of charming serpents, and depriving them of the power of poison- 
ing by music and other means, see Robinson's Calmet, art. " Inchant- 
ments." 

12. — gracious; i.e., mild, kind, agreeable, and thus conciliate favor; 
while those of the fool are harsh and offensive, and bring evil upon 
him. 

13. The beginning, &c. ; i.e.. All his talk, from beginning to end, is 
folly, and he proceeds from bad to worse, from folly to rage, which ends 
in mischief to himself or to others. 

14. — multiplieth words, &c. The Preacher seems to allude to the 
folly of those great talkers who speak with confidence of their inten- 
tions and plans for the future, or who are fond of predicting what will 
happen in time to come. — what shall be after him. This phrase seems 
to mean, what shall happen to him in future, (Comp. vi. 12, viii. 7.) 

15. — knoweth not how to go to the city. This language probably had 
the emphasis and point of a proverb. To go to the city is an instance of 
what ought to be familiar and well known. The meaning is, that the 
foolish man, in his labors and pursuits, is like a traveller ignorant of 
the road, who, in going to a city, takes difficult, troublesome, or 
dangerous circuits, which bring him no nearer to the end of his 
journey. 

16. — king is a child. This may be understood literally, as setting 
forth the evils of having a child for a king. But I should rather under- 
stand it of a king resembling a child in disposition, character, and 
conduct ; one who gives himself up to amusements, and neglects the 
weighty concerns of government. Eosenmiiller quotes from the Arabic 
Anthology a similar proverb : " The blow of an axe upon the head is 
lighter than the government of one of the young colts." — feast in the 
morning. Jahn, in his Archaeology, § 145, says, *' Not only the inhabi- 



J5CCLESIASTES. 817 

tants of the East generally, but the Greeks and Romans also, were in 
the habit of taking a slight dinner about ten or eleven o'clock of our 
time, which consisted of fruits, milk, cheese, &c. Their principal meal 
was about six or seven in the afternoon." Hence, to eat, i.e., to feast, 
in the morning was regarded as intemperance, and as consuming the 
time which ought to be devoted to affairs of government. (Comp. 
Isa. V. 11; Actsii. 13-15.) 

17. — a noble; i.e., resembles those who are truly noble in disposi- 
tion and character, according to a well-known Hebraism. 

19. — money answereth all things ; i.e., procures, supplies, all things. 
From the condemnation of idleness the Preacher passes to the com- 
mendation of that which is procured by diligence, i.e., money ; aflirm- 
ing that, while of other good things one procures one advantage and 
another another, money procures all. So Hor., Epist. i. 6, 36 : — 

" Scilicet uxorem cum dote, fidemque, et amicos, 
Et genus, et formam, regina pecunia donat." 

20. There is probably no allusion here to the custom of sending let 
ters by pigeons, as some suppose. The idea is, that the king will get 
intelligence of what is said against him in some unknown and unsus- 
pected way, as if a bird of the air was passing by the window and car- 
ried it. There are in English the proverbs, " Hedges have ears ; " and 
" The walls will speak." 

Ch. XL 1. Cast thy bread upon the waters. There can be little doubt 
that this verse is a recommendation of liberality in giving to the needy ; 
but, respecting the explanation of the proverb, there are different opin- 
ions. Some suppose the allusion is to the planting of corn or rice upon 
wet places, or such as are even covered with water, which yield an 
abundant harvest. The objection to this is, that, if there be an allu- 
sion to any custom of this kind, it would not be practised without the 
confident expectation of a harvest ; in which case the precept would 
relate to industry rather than to generosity. Besides, the language is, 
" Cast thy bread,'^ &c., not thy grain. It may not be amiss to observe, 
that the cakes of the Hebrews were thin and light, such as would float 
for a time on the water. *' The cakes when made were round, and 
nine or ten inches in diameter. The unleavened cakes were not 
thicker than a knife, but the leavened were as thick as a man's little 
finger. Hence they were not cut with a knife, but broken." (Jahn's 
Archasology, § 140.) Thus the meaning of the proverb may be. Be- 
stow thy gifts with the utmost liberality, even upon those who, by rea- 
son of their ingratitude or their extreme poverty, may seem to be as 



318 NOTES. 

unlikely to make any returns to thee as the water upon which it miglit 
be cast. Win the good-will of all, even of the lowest, by acts of kind- 
ness. You may receive a return from them ; if not, you will be re- 
warded by God. Rosenmliller observes that the Arabs have a similar 
proverb : " Do good ; throw bread into the water ; it will one day be 
repaid thee." The Turks have borrowed it from the Arabs, with a 
slight alteration: "Do good; throw bread into the water; even if the 
fish does not know, yet the Creator knows it." 

2. — a portion ; i.e., a part of thy good things or provisions. — to 
seven, &c. ; i.e., to many, not limiting your beneficence, except by your 
ability. (Comp. Mic. v. 5.) — thou knowest not what evil, &c. ; i.e., 
some calamity may strip thee of thy property, and make thee an object 
of charity, when thou mayst receive aid from some one of those whose 
good-will thou hast secured by tliy beneficence. 

3. When the clouds, &e. As both clauses of this verse seem designed 
to express the same thought, the meaning seems to be, that calamities, 
referred to in the preceding verse, will certainly come ; that they can- 
not be prevented by any foresight, or remedied by human care ; and 
that what cannot be cured must be endured. When the cloud is full, 
the rain will fall, without regard to our wishes ; and where the tree 
has fallen, there it will stay, whether we like it or not. (Comp. 
ver. 6.) 

4. — ivatcketh the wind, &c. This proverb may imply a recommen- 
dation not to be overscrupulous in the exercise of charity. But it is, 
perhaps, more probable that it relates to human conduct in general, 
in relation both to business and duty. He that is deterred from any 
undertaking by every appearance of hazard or inconvenience will never 
accomplish any thing ; as he that will not sow till the wind comes from 
exactly the right quarter may let the seed-time pass by ; and he that 
will not reap because he is afraid of every cloud that threatens rain 
may lose his harvest. 

5. — the way of the wind; i.e., whence it comes and whither it goes. 
(Comp. John iii. 8.) Both of the images in this verse are designed to 
set forth the incomprehensibility of Providence, or the uncertainty how 
God will order the course of things, what evil he will send, or what 
good, whether storms or sunshine, rain or drought, or whether life 
itself will be continued. The inference seems to be, that we are to be 
active in duty and business, and leave events to the care of Provi' 
dence. 

6. — whether this shall prosper, or that; i.e., that which is sojvn early 
or that which is sown late. (See the note on ver. 4 and 5.) 



ECCLESIASTES. 319 

Ch. XI. 7 -XII. 8. In this portion of the book the Preacher passes 
t^ a new topic, and exhorts to a cheerful enjoyment of life while it 
lasts, in the participation of pleasures which in their nature and degree 
are consistent with the thought of retribution and the remembrance of 
the Creator. The consideration of the long night of death and the 
grievous infirmities of age are urged as a reason for dispelling anxiety 
and sorrow while the opportunity for enjoyment lasts. (Comp. ch. ii. 
24, and the note.) 

7. — the light, &c. ; i.e., life is dear to all. To see the hght, to be- 
hold the sun, is figurative language for to live. 

8. — let him rejoice in them all ; i.e., let him not indulge in anxiety 
and gloom, but take all the enjoyment which life can give, since it is the 
only opportunity for enjoyment. (Comp. iii. 12.) — the days of dark- 
ness ; i.e., the long night of death which succeeds life. (Comp. Job x. 
21; Ps. Ixxxviii. 12.) All that cometh is vanity. The connection seems 
to show the meaning to be. All the future, after the present Ufe is 
closed, is vanity or nothingness. (Comp. ch. ix. 4-6.) 

9. Rejoice, young man ! in thy youth; i.e., in the time of thy youth. 
This verse is commonly understood in an ironical sense, like the lan- 
guage of Ehjah to the priests of Baal, " Cry aloud, for he is a god." 
But from the connection in which the verse stands, and fi-om a com- 
parison of it with other passages in the book, in which the writer 
recommends present enjoyment, in opposition to anxious care, as a man's 
only portion in the midst of the vanities and uncertainties of life, it is 
far more probable that the exhortation is serious. (See ch. ii. 10, 24; 
iii. 12, 13, 22; v. 18 ; vi. 9 ; vii. 14 ; viii. 15; ix. 7-9.) So the verse is 
understood by Jerome, Martin Luther, Bishop Patrick, and other in- 
terpreters. The Preacher regards the season of youth as the peculiar 
season of enjoyment ; but he would have all the pleasures of youth con- 
secrated by the remembrance of the Creator, being innocent in their 
nature, and pursued only to such an extent as is consistent with the 
Creator's laws, and with the retribution which attends the violation of 
them. The expression, *' Walk in the ways of thy heart and in the 
sight of thine eyes," to one accustomed to the Christian sentiment of 
faith in a future life, would seem at first to be used in an ironical sense. 
But it is susceptible of a good one, namely, Pursue such things as will 
gratify your desires and delight your senses ; and the necessary quali- 
fication is immediately added, namely, that the pursuit of enjoyment 
is to be in consistency with the thought of judgment or retribution from 
God ; that he will bring us into judgment in relation to the virtuous 
use or sinful abuse of our blessings. The laws of the Creator, and the 



320 NOTES. 

penalties or consequences annexed to their violation, are to be kept in 
mind. In Numb. xv. 39, '* to seek after one's own heart, and one's 
own eyes," is used in express opposition to " remembering the com- 
mandments of the Lord,'' and of course should have no influence 
on the explanation of these phrases when used in a difierent con- 
nection. 

10. — sorrow from thy heart, — evil from thy body. The connection, as 
well as such passages as ch. ix. 7-9, and others referred to in the pre- 
ceding note, seems to require us to understand the verse as an exhorta- 
tion to banish anxiety and sorrow from the mind, and from the body 
whatever is painful or noxious ; in other words, to recommend a cheer- 
ful enjoyment of life, from the consideration, that the season of youth 
is transitory, passing away like a vapor. 

Ch. XII. 1. Remember, &c. This sentiment is to be connected with 
what goes before. Youth is not only the season of enjoyment, but of 
religion. In that interesting period of life, cheerfulness and joy are to 
be cherished, the pleasures of hfe are to be enjoyed, sorrow and pain 
are to be banished ; but the whole conduct in relation to these things 
is to be regulated by the remembrance of the Creator, of the intimate 
relation in which the creature stands to him, of the blessings which he 
has received from him, of the duties which he owes to him, and of the 
judgment appointed by him, into which he is to be brought. 

2. In ver. 1, the Preacher has exhorted the young to remember the 
Creator in the peculiar season of their enjoyments and capacities, which 
is also the season of their temptations, before the troubles and infirm- 
ities of age should arrive. He now proceeds to give, in figurative or 
what may be called enigmatical language, a more particular description 
of the troubles, decays, and infirmities of old age. — sun, and the light, 
&c. I do not understand this of the dim-sightedness of men, which 
is alluded to in the next verse. The images in this verse rather set 
forth the gloom and sadness which belong to old age, when every 
thing looks dark and cheerless. — and the clouds return after the rain ; 
i.e., when one trouble seems to tread upon the heels of another, caus- 
ing continual sadness ; when after the rain no sunshine succeeds, but 
only perpetual clouds. 

3. Here the decay and infirmities of the human body in age are com- 
pared to a house decayed and falling into ruin. ( Comp. Job iv. 19 ; 
2 Cor. V. 1.) — keepers of the house ; i.e., the arms, which guard the body 
from injury, defend it from assault, supply it with food, &c., and which 
are subject to weakness and trembling in age. — strong men; i.e., the 



ECCLESIASTES. 321 

thighs and legs, on which the hody rests for support, but which in ola 
men become feeble, bent in walking, and unfit for their office. — and 
the grinders cease. The image is drawn from grinding by the hand" 
mill, which was performed by Hebrew servants in the house. (Exod. 
xi. 5.) — cease; i.e., cease to grind. It represents the teeth of the 
aged man, which are too few to discharge their office of preparing the 
food for the stomach. — those that look out of the windows ; i.e., the eyes 
which look through the cavities of the head in which they are placed, 
as it were through the windows of a house. They are said to be 
darkened, in reference to the dimness of sight common to the aged. 
(Comp. Gen. xxvii. 1; xlviii. 10.) 

4. — when the doors are shut in the streets, &c. Some understand this 
literally of the doors of the old man's habitation, in reference to his 
remaining at home. But it seems best to understand it allegorically 
of his lips, which are elsewhere in the Scriptures called doors. (See 
Job xli. 14; Mic. vii. 5.) — sound of the mill, &c. The mill seems 
to denote the inner part of the mouth, which gives forth a low sound 
when the old man speaks. The meaning is, that tlie old man seldom 
opens his mouth to speak, as his voice is weak and faint. — rise up at 
the voice of the bird. The aged man's restlessness or difficulty of enjoy- 
ing sound and long sleep is here described ; he is awaked by the earli- 
est chirping of birds in the morning, and so compelled to rise. The 
pronoun they, which I have used for he or one, to make it conform to 
the following verses, is implied in the previous description of old age. 
The rendering, *' it riseth to the voice of the bird,'' seems to me much 
less probable. — all the daughters of music; all songstresses, all the 
women who sing, or perhaps all musical voices, sounds, or songs. 
— are brought low; i.e., sound low, are not heard by him, in conse- 
quence of his deafness. So old Barzillai, in 2 Sam. xix. 35, says, 
" Can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing 
women 1 " 

5. — they are afraid of that which is high; i.e., on account of their 
weakness, or short breath, or dizziness, they are afraid to ascend stairs, 
hills, &c. — and terrors are in the way; i.e., terrors for them. They 
are afraid of walking in a common way, lest they should stumble, or 
meet with some accident. — and the almond is despised; i.e., so rich 
and dehcate a fruit as the almond is rejected by the toothless old man. 
Others, with the Common Version, the almond-tree shall flourish ; refer- 
ring to the white hairs of the old man. This does not agree so well 
with what follows ; and, besides, it is said that the blossoms of the 
almond-tree are not white, but rose or flesh-colored. (See Pliny, Hist. 

14* 



322 NOTES. 

Nat. 16, 25.) — and the locust is a burden; i.e., the locust, which was 
a common food with the Orientals, and which may have been regarded 
as of easy digestion, cannot be eaten or digested by the old man. The 
locust would hardly be mentioned as an instance of a very light thing 
resting upon the old man. It would be a disagreeable thing, at least, 
lighting upon any one. — and the caper-herry fails ; i.e., to excite appe- 
tite, or other natural desire. See Gesen. Lex. ad verb., who refers to 
Plutarch, Qu^st. Symp. 6, 2, and to PHny, Hist. Nat. 13, 23, ib. 20, 15, 
as showing that the caper-berry was regarded by the ancients as a 
provocative of appetite and lust. The translation caper-berry is sup- 
ported by the Sept., Vulg., and Syr. Versions. The Common Version 
expresses the sense, but not the literal meaning. — since man goethj 
&c. ; i.e., the aged man is on the point of being carried to the grave, 
his everlasting home (comp. Tob. iii. 6), with the usual mourning 
solemnities. By mourners may be understood not only the relatives, 
but such hired mourners as are mentioned in Jer. ix. 17, Amos v. 16, 
upon which see the note. 

6. — before the silver cord be snapped asunder y and the golden bowl be 
crushed. From plain language the Preacher now returns to that which 
is allegorical, setting forth the decline and loss of the vital powers in 
man by new images. The exhortation, " Remember thy Creator," is 
to be regarded as repeated at the beginning of this verse. The meta- 
phor, by which loss of life is denoted, is borrowed from a lamp sus- 
pended from a ceiling by a silver cord. The golden bowl is the bowl 
or reservoir of oil, from which it is distributed into the branches, in 
which the wicks are placed from which the hght proceeds. (See 
Zech. iv. 2, and the note; Job xxix. 3, and the note.) The cord by 
which this golden bowl or reservoir of oil is suspended being decayed 
with age, giving way, and so suffering the bowl of oil to fall upon the 
floor and be broken, and thus extinguish the lamps, affords a striking 
image of the breaking-up of the human machine, and the extinction of 
its life, which, by a very common metaphor, is said to be suspended upon 
a brittle thread. We need not inquire what internal part of the body 
is denoted by the silver cord or the golden bowl; whether by the 
former is denoted the spinal marrow, the nerves, the veins, or arteries ; 
or whether by the golden bowl is denoted the heart, the brain, &c., or 
by tliB bucket the lungs ; since it is extremely doubtful whether the 
Preacher refers to either. The general image presented by the break- 
ing of the lamp, and of the silver cord which held it up, sufficiently 
illustrates the extinction of life. — or the bucket broken at the fountain ^ 
or the wheel broken at the well. By the fountain here is denoted a place 



ECCLESIASTES. 823 

from which the water could be obtained only by being drawn up by a 
bucket ; an earthen one indeed, and used for carrying water as well as 
drawing it, but originally for drawing it, as appears from the deriva- 
tion of tlie Hebrew term. The water could not be procured when the 
bucket and the wheel, by which the water was drawn from the well by 
a line and bucket appended to it, were broken. Water-wheels are still 
used in the East : Niebuhr has given a picture of one in his Description 
of Arabia. Indeed, water-wheels are not uncommon in this country. 
By the images of the broken bucket and wheel, in consequence of which 
no water could be procured, are set forth the decay and dissolution of 
the human body through age, by reason of which the life camiot 
be retained in it. Some have undertaken to point out what internal 
part of the body was denoted by the bucket, the fountain, the wheel, 
and the cistern. I do not think the Preacher intended such a par- 
ticular application of the terms ; but any one can conjecture as he 
pleases. 

7. — and the dust, &c. This is the most Uteral rendering; a7}d being 
the translation of the Hebrew conjunction 1. — and the sphit return to 
God who gave it. ( See the notes on ch. iii. 19, 21.) In those notes I have 
given reasons for the supposition, that by spirit the author understands 
the vital spirit, which was breathed into man by the Almighty when 
he had formed him out of dust, and not the soul, considered as having 
a conscious and desirable personal existence. In view of the consider- 
ations presented in those notes, it seems improbable that this verse 
expresses the doctrine of the immortahty of the conscious soul in a 
state of retribution. It is more probable that the expression has the 
same meaning as in Job xxxiv. 14, 15 : — 

" Should he set his heart against man, 
He would take back his spirit and his breath, 
Then would all flesh expire together ; 
Yea, man would return to the dust." 

This conclusion is strengthened by the verse which follows. "When 
the Apostle Paid proclaims the Christian doctrine, that this corruptible 
shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, he 
adds, " O death! where is thy sting 1 grave! where is thy victory ? " 
If the Preacher had expressed a similar sentiment, would he have 
added in the very next verse. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity 7 If by 
the return of the spirit to God he had understood what a Christian 
would now express by the language, would no joy have been awak- 
ened by the thought ? Would he not have made use of the doctrine for 
consolation, in a discom-se upon the vanity of earthly things ? Would 



824 NOTES. 

the only way in which he spoke of the return of the spirit to God be 
that of regarding it as the consequence of the breaking-up of the human 
system, the last act of the sad drama of life, rather than as the com- 
mencement of a happier existence 1 A review of the passages in which 
the Preacher alludes to the condition of man after death is, on the 
whole, inconsistent with his faith in a retributive immortahty of the 
conscious soul. In ch. iii. 18-21, he complains of the sad condition of 
man, in that the same lot befalls him which befalls the brutes, the body 
of each returning to the dust out of which it was formed ; and in ver. 21 
he asks, " Who knoweth the spirit of man, whether it goeth upward, 
and the spirit of a beast, whether it goeth downward to the earth ? '' 
This is the rendering which the Hebrew idiom demands. It seems to 
imply that some had maintained there was a difierent residence for the 
spirit of a man after death from that which was allotted to brutes, but 
that the writer doubted the correctness of the opinion. In the next 
verse the same doubt is repeated : " For who shall bring him to see 
what shall be after him ? " In ch. vi. 12, the writer expresses the 
same doubt in nearly the same words. In ch. viii. 6-9, the Preacher 
reminds the wicked of a day of judgment which he cannot escape; 
but he evidently has in view retribution on earth. In ch. ix. 4-6, we 
have another strong expression of the writer's views, which can hardly 
be reconciled with faith in the soul's immortality in a state of conscious 
retribution. The frequent recurrence of his doubts on this subject, and 
the practical exhortations which are founded on them, indicate that he 
had no faith in such an immortality of the soul. In ch. xi. 9 and xii. 
14, it is most consistent with the tenor of the whole book to regard the 
judgment spoken of as occurring in the present world. It is also to be 
observed, that language similar to that of the verse on which we are 
commenting is used by the ancient philosophers, who had no belief in 
the soul's conscious immortality. Thus Lucretius, — who, in lib. iii. 
418, &c., argues at great length that the soul is mortal like the body, — 
says, lib. ii. 999, &c. : — 

" Cedit enim retro, de terra quod fuit ante, 
In terras ; et, quod missum est ex aetheris oris, 
Id rursura coeli relatum templa receptant." 

" For that which was from the earth goes back to the earth ; and that 
which was sent from the regions of the air, being conveyed back, is 
again received into the temples of heaven." (See also the interesting 
passages from Greek writers quoted by Le Clerc ad loc.) Similar ex- 
pressions might be used by Orientals, who now hold the doctrine of 
the absorption of the soul into the Deity. I do not mean to intimate, 



ECCLESIASTES. 326 

however, that Ecclesiastes held this mystical doctrine of absorption. 
(See the note on ch. iii. 19.) I adduce the passage merely to show 
that the return of the spirit to God, its author, does not necessarily im- 
ply a conscious, much less a retributive, immortality. It would give 
any one pleasure, without doubt, and perhaps strengthen his faith, to 
find the doctrines of the Christian revelation anticipated by the Hebrew 
writers and by all other writers ; but no good is permanently gained 
by disguising or sacrificing the truth. More worthy of a man and a 
Christian is it to mark the providence of God in the progress of reli- 
gious knowledge. 

Ch. XII. 9-14. This epilogue, on account of the character of its 
sentiments, is supposed by some critics to have been added to the book 
by a later writer than the author. But there does not appear sufficient 
ground for such a supposition. Knobel regards ver. 14 as referring to 
a retribution in a future life, and therefore inconsistent with the gen- 
eral sentiment of the book. ^ On this account he rejects it as spurious. 
But, if we consider the broad and indefinite mode of expression which 
is characteristic of the Preacher, and have regard to the other pas- 
sages in which he refers to a judgment for evil-doers, there will be 
no difficulty in supposing that he refers, in ver. 14, to temporal retri- 
bution. 

11. — are as goads; i.e., they have the same power to stimulate 
men to the acquisition of wisdom and the practice of virtue as the 
goad has to excite the dull ox to put forth more strength, or to go 
in the right track. — as nails driven in; i.e., they make a deep and 
abiding impression, stick as fast in the mind as nails or pegs when 
driven into boards and beams. Roberts informs us that such expres 
sions are common in Hindostan. It is said, " The words of that judge 
are quite certain; they are like the driven nails." — " I have heard all 
he has to say, and the efiect on my mind is like a nail driven home." 
— " What a speaker ! all his words are nails ; who will draw them out 
again 1" (See Roberts's Illustrations ad loc.) — members of assem- 
blies ; literally, lords or masters of assemblies. So, in Judges ix. 51, the 
Common Version correctly translates, " they of the city/' where the lit- 
ei-al rendering would be " masters of the city." So Joshua xxiv. 11, 
" the men of Jericho," instead of " the masters of Jericho." These 
assemblies were probably composed of the most wise and learned men 
of a place, who met together to discuss questions of religion, morals, 
philosophy, &c. Perhaps they had some connection with synagogues. 
The Jewish doctors of the temple, among whom Jesus was found by 



826 NOTES. 

his parents, may give us an idea of them. (See Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. 
et Talmud., on Matt. iv. 23, and De Sjnagogis.) Otherwise, masters, 
i.e., makers, of collections. — given hy one shepherd; i.e., teacher. The 
words of the wise, or members of assembUes, such as are uttered by 
such members among themselves, are said to be given, i.e., spoken, c 
written and published, by one teacher, like the Preacher or the authoi 
of the book of Ecclesiastes, i.e., one who feeds the people with knowl- 
edge, as a shepherd feeds his flock. (Comp. Prov. x. 21.) Some sup- 
pose that, by 07ie shepherd, God, the inspirer of wisdom, is intended. 

12. To the multiplying of hooks, &c. The design of this sentiment 
probably is to urge men to be satisfied with a few good books of the 
wise, whose words are as goads and driven nails, rather than to perplex 
themselves with reading many books or making new ones. Dr. Chan- 
ning has a similar sentiment in his Lectures on the Elevation of the 
Laboring Portion of the Community ; " We need not many books to 
answer the great ends of reading. A few are better than many ; and a 
little time given to a faithful study of the few will be enough to quicken 
thought and enrich the mind." — " Few of the books read amgng us 
deserve to be read. Most of them have no principle of life, as is 
proved by the fact that they die the year of their birth. They do not 
come from thinkers, and how can they awaken thought ? '* 

13. — the end. This word is used Uterally, where it elsewhere 
occurs in this book. (Ch. iii. 11 ; vii. 2.) The meaning may be thus 
expressed : My discourse has come to an end. I have nothing more to 
gay except this, the most important thing which can be said. Fear God, 
&c. — of every man. Others translate, the whole of man ; i.e., his whole 
business or duty. But such a form of expression is hardly met with 
in Hebrew, or in other languages. 

14. — into the judgment, &c. (See the notes on ch. iii. 19, 21 ; ix. 2 ; 
xii. 7.) To those who are familiar with the Christian doctrine of retri- 
bution after death, the Preacher may seem to allude to it here. A 
Christian could mean nothing else by such an utterance. But, for the 
reasons which have been given in the notes referred to, it is far more 
probable that he refers to retribution in this world. (Comp. iii. 17; 
viii. 5, 6 ; xi. 9 ; Isa. ii. 12 ; iii. 14 ; xxvi. 8 ; Ixvi. 16 ; Jer. xxv. 31 ; 
Ezek. xvii. 20 ; xx. 35 ; xxxviii. 22; Ps. i. 5; vii. 8; ix. 4, 8, 19 ; xxxv. 
23 ; 1. 4 ; cxliii. 2 ; Job xiv. 3.) So Luther understood it. " He does 
not speak of the last judgment, but according to Scripture usage, and 
generally, of any judgments whatever, whether those by which heretics 
are judged and destroyed, or any other ungodly men." (See Luther's 
Conmaent. in loc. Opera, vol. iv. p. 46, edit. Wittenb.) — which there 



ECCLESIASTES. 32'< 

is upon. Upon is the strict rendering of the Hebrew J 5^. I doubt 
whether it will bear the rendering together with in this or a similar con- 
nection. It is true, on the other hand, that the omission of the relative, 
^^'&^^, is rather hard. 



NOTES ON THE CANTICLES. 



Ch. I. 2-8. This song seems to set forth the desire of an innocent 
country maiden to see her shepherd lover, whom she prefers to follow 
with his flocks rather than to dwell in the abodes of royalty. I do not 
see how ver. 7, " Tell me where thou feedest," can be reconciled with 
the supposition, that Solomon, or any king, was the object of the 
maiden's attachment. It seems rather to be her desire to escape 
from the palace, and to be with the humble shepherd, tending his 
flocks. 

2. — one of the kisses; literally, /row the kisses; i.e., with one or some 
of those peculiar kisses which come from his mouth. Sept. (ptTirjaaTQ 
lie and ({nXjifiaTuv, &c. — thi/ love; i.e., as it is expressed in kisses, 
caresses, love-tokens, &c. The word is in the plural in the Hebrew. 
The change of person, by which the absent object of affection is ad- 
dressed as present, belongs to the vividness of poetic representation, 
and is probably more common in Hebrew than in other poetry. — bet- 
ter than wine. The Eastern poets, and even those of Greece, make a 
frequent use of this comparison. (See Bion, Idyl. A. 49.) The stanza 
in the song of Ben Jonson is well known : — 

*' Drink to me only with thine eyes, 
And I will pledge with mine ; 
And leave a kiss within the cup, 
And I'll not ask for wine." 

3. — savor, &c. The fondness of the Orientals for fragrant odors 
in connection with their dress is well known. (Comp. Ps. xlv. 8; 
cxxxiii. 2; Prov. vii. 17; Amos vi. 6; Lane's Arabian Nights, vol. i. 
405, 536.) But, as the lover is represented as a shepherd in ver. 7, the 
savor of his perfumes may be a figurative expression, denoting the 
acceptableness of his person. — thy name. In the Hebrew there is a 
resemblance in sound between the words signifying name and fragrant 

[329] 



330 NOTES. 

oil^ Dili and '^^'if, which forms what is called in Hebrew grammar a 

paronomasia^ and accounts for the remark on the name of the lover. 
The meaning is, that such is the reputation of the lover, or the regard 
in which he is held, that the very mention of his name is as grate- 
ful as the fragrance of perfumes just poured forth. (Comp. Eccles. 
vii. 1.) 

4. Draw me, &c. The maiden seeks some encouragement from the 
lover, or aid in her flight from the king, who had taken her to his 
harem. — we will praise, &c. The maiden speaks of herself and her 
female companions. 

5. — of Kedar ; the name of an Arabian tribe, probably so called 
from being descended from Kedar, the son of Ishmael (Gen. xxv. 13). 
The tents of the Bedouin Arabs are said by many travellers, quoted by 
Harmer, Observ. xxiii., to be still covered with black goafs-hair cloth. 
D'Arvieux says, '^ The Arabs have no other lodgings but their tents, 
which they call houses. They are all black, of goat's-hair canvas, 
which the women weave and spin too." (Travels in Arabia, ch. xii. 
p. 181.) — curtains of Solomon ; i.e., of Solomon's tent. That persons 
of distinction often made use of tents for pleasure may be seen in 
Harmer's Observations, xxviii. Such tents were often very splendid 
and costly. (See Robinson's Calmet, art. " Tent.") In regard to the 
comparison, the meaning evidently is, that the maiden is black as the 
tents of Kedar, but comely as the curtains of Solomon. Harmer 
quotes from D'Arvieux, Voy. dans la Palest., p. 214, a passage which 
illustrates the injury to her beauty which the maiden had suffered by 
exposure to the sun : " The princesses and the other Arab ladies, whom 
they showed me from a private place of the tent, appeared to me 
beautiful and well-shaped : one may judge by these, and by what they 
told me of them, that the rest are no less so. They are very fair, 
because they are always kept from the sun. The women in common 
are extremely sunburnt, besides the brown and swarthy color which 
they naturally have." (See Harmer's Outlines, &c., ad loc.) 

6. Gaze not, &c. Addressed to the daughters of Jerusalem, i.e., the 
ladies who were in company with her, who are supposed to look with 
wonder upon her presumption, or to assume looks of surprise and 
doubt. — my mother's sons; i.e., my step-brothers. — my vineyard, 
my own, &c. ; i.e., my most valued possession, my personal beauty, has 
been impaired by watching the vineyard of others. 

7. — like a veiled one. This is the literal rendering and best sup- 
ported by usage. It is in the margin of the Common Version. Sept 
'K^pdSaA^joidvTj. A veiled one denotes a harlot. (See Gen. xxxviii. 15.) 



THE CANTICLES. 331 

The maiden expresses her fears, lest, if she should be obliged to go 
about seeking her lover, unacquainted with the place where he was 
pursuing his business, she might be taken for a harlot. The custom 
of reposing in the shade during the heat of noonday is thus referred to 
by Roberts, a missionary in Hindostan : *' Before noon, the shepherds 
and their flocks may be seen slowly moving towards some shady tree, 
where they recline during the lieat of the day." The custom was not 
confiried to the East. Thus, Virgil, Georg. iii. 331 : — 

" ^stibus at mediis umbrosam exquirere vallem, 
Sicubi magna Jovis antiquo robore quercus 
Ingentes tendat ramos, aut sicubi nigrum 
Ilicibus crebris sacra nemus accubet umbra." 

8. If thou know not ; i.e., where he is to be found, take care to feed 
thy kids by the tents of the shepherds, and he will readily be found 
there with his flock. In the simple style of pastoral poetry, the pre- 
paration for a meeting of the lovers at noon with their flocks is of suf- 
ficient importance to form the conclusion of the idyl. 

9. To the horses, &c. It seems to me that "^tnCD may be regarded 

as a collective noun with h paragogic, as in Lam. i. 1 ; Isa. i. 21. 

Otherwise, To my horse, or horses. In this comparison the resemblance 
is founded on the splendor of the bride's dress and ornaments, as much 
as on her personal beauty. (See the next verse.) On this comparison 
Harmer remarks : ** If we may believe Maillet, the horses of Egypt are 
remarkable for their beauty and stateliness, and are sent, as presents of 
great value, to the great men of Constantinople ; but that strangers can- 
not procure them, and that he himself, though consul-general, could 
obtain permission to transport only two of them ; and that it appears 
from the Old Testament they were not less valuable anciently, beings 
eagerly sought for by the kings of Syria. (2 Chron. i. 17.) On the 
other hand, I would remark, that the Eastern people are excessively 
attached to their horses, particularly the Arabs, who are fond of them 
as if they were children. D'Arvieux, in particular, gives a diverting 
account of the affectionate caresses an Arab used to give to a mare of his 
he had sold to a merchant at Rama. When he came to see it (which 
was. very frequently), he would weep over it for tenderness, kiss its 
eyes, and, when he departed, go backwards, bidding it adieu in the 
most tender manner." It is also observed by Wilhams, that "the 
Easterns, so highly valuing their horses, spare no expense to ornament 
them with the most costly trappings of gold, enriched with pearls 
and precious stones ; and it is very observable that the Arabian and 



332 NOTES. 

Turkish ladies decorate themselves in a very similar manner, wearing 
rows of pearls or precious stones round the head-dress and descending 
over their cheeks ; gold chains, also, upon their necks and bosoms." 
(Williams ad loc.) In Wilkinson's Manners and Customs of the 
Ancient Egyptians (vol. 1. p. 106), is a plate representing a royal 
chariot and horses. From the graceful appearance of the horses, and 
their gay and rich ornaments, one may conclude that the comparison 
of an Oriental lady in full dress to the horses in a royal chariot was not 
unnatural. Wilkinson says (vol. i. p. 355), " On grand occasions, 
the Egyptian horses were decked with fancy ornaments : a rich-striped 
or checkered housing, trimmed with a broad border and large pendent 
tassels, covered the whole body ; and two or more feathers, inserted in 
lions' heads or some other device of gold, formed a crest upon the 
summit of the headstall." Theocritus, speaking of Helen, makes a 
comparison somewhat similar, but less direct (Idyl. 18, 30), — apiiari 
QeaaaTibg iTTnog. 

10. — thy cheeks. In Robinson's Calmet (p. 270) may be seen a 
representation of the dress of an Eastern lady, which illustrates this 
verse. " The Persian ladies," says Olearius (Reisebescreib., p. 588), 
" make use of two or three rows of pearls, which are not worn there 
about the neck, as in other places, but round the head, beginning on 
the forehead and descending down the cheeks and under the chin, so 
that their faces seem to be set in pearls." D'Arvieux also describes 
the Arab women as wearing pieces of gold coin hanging down the 
sides of the face ; and adds that they have chains of gold about their 
necks, which hang down their breasts. (La Roque, Voy. dans la 
Palest., p. 219. See Harmer's Outlines, &c., p. 206.) 

12. While the king reclineth, &c. ; literally, is in his circle ; i.e., of 
friends. It is customary for the immediate attendants of an Oriental 
ruler to stand in a segment of a circle at a small distance before their 
lord, as he is seated in the cornei jf the divan. 1 Sam. xvi. 11, " We 
will not sit down " is literally, " We will not surround." It would 
seem to be too harsh a figure to suppose my spikenard to mean " my 
personal charms and graces," though such a supposition is favored by 
the next verse. (See ch. iv. 12, 16.) 

13. A hunch of myrrh; which was probably suspended from the neck 
by an elegant chain, as being the most fragrant of perfumes. " There 
was some inconsistency," says Gesenius, "in the accounts of the 
myrrh-bearing tree, until Ehrenberg discovered and described it. It 
is now called halsamodendron myrrha.*' The myrrh is a substance dis- 
tilling in tears from a tree growing in Arabia, which tears harden into 



THE CANTICLES. 333 

a bitter, aromatic gum, which was highly prized, and used in incense. 
— abide ; he shall be cherished as the most fragrant perfume, which is 
constantly in the bosom. It is not so agreeable to the use of language 
to understand a bunch of the leaves or blossoms of the myrrh-tree to 
be denoted ; for, in ch. v. 5, mention is made of the self-flowing myrrh, 
i.e., that which distils from the tree in its season, when it is not cut 
or punctured. 

14. — Jienna-fiowers. This flower is the Lawsonia iners of Linnaeus. 
The Arabic name of this plant is alhenna, or, without the article, 
henna. The best description of it is given by Sonnini, who has also 
furnished an engraved representation of it. ( See Yoy . dans la Haute 
et Basse Egypte, torn. i. pp. 291-302.) "The henna is a tall shrub, 
endlessly multiplied in Egypt ; the leaves are of a lengthened, oval 
form, opposed to each other, and of a faint green color. The flowers 
grow at the extremity of the branches, in long and tufted bouquets. 
In truth, this is one of the plants the most grateful to both the sight 
and the smell. The gently deepish color of its bark ; the Hght green 
of its foliage ; the softened mixture of white and yellow with which the 
flowers, collected irrto long clusters like the lilac, are colored ; the red 
tint of the ramifications which support them, — form a combination of 
the most agreeable effect. These flowers, whose shades are so deli- 
cate, diffuse around the sweetest odors, and embalm the gardens and 
the apartments which they embellish. They accordingly form the 
usual nosegay of beauty ; the women take pleasure in decking them- 
selves with these beautiful clusters of fragrance, in adorning their 
apartments with them, in carrying them to the bath, in holding them in 
their hand, — in a word, in perfuming their bosom with them.^' ( See 
also Shaw's Works, vol. i. p. 113, &c.) It is by the powder obtained 
from the dried leaves of the henna, and diluted in water, that the Ori- 
entals tinge their nails and other parts of the body with a reddish or 
deep orange hue. (See Lane's Modern Egyptians, vol. i. p. 54; Rob- 
inson's Calmet, art. '' Camphire.") — Engedi; a city near the Dead 
Sea, fertile in vines and palm-trees. (Pliny, Nat. Hist., v. 17.) 

15. — ore doves. This rendering is rather more in conformity with 
grammatical usage, and is that of the Septuagint Version. It is 
adopted by Hodgson, Ewald, and others. That of the Common Version 
is, however, allowable. The comparison has reference to the bright- 
ness, beauty, and quick motion of the dove. So in ch. vii. 4, " Thine 
eyes are like the pools at Heshbon." So in the Gitagovinda, part vii., 
as in Clarke's Commentary, '' His passion was inflamed by the glances 
of her eyes, which played like a pair of water-birds with blue plumage, 



834 NOTES. 

that sport near a full-blown lotos on a pool in the season of dew." In 
the same poem the eyes are frequently compared to blue water-lilies 
And near the end occurs the sentence, " Whence the antelopes of 
thine eyes may run down and sport at pleasure/' 

17. — cedars f &c. They were not in a house, but a grove, where 
the trunks and spreading heads of the cedars and the cypresses are 
poetically called the beams and the roof of their chamber. Thus Mil- 
ton, describing Adam's bower : — 

" The roof 
Of thickest covert was inwoven shade, 
Laurel and myrtle, and what higher grew 
Of firm and fragrant leaf" Par. Lost, iv. 692. 

Ch. II. 1. — the rose. As the name meadow saffron would be fatal to 
the poetic beauty of the verse, I have retained the Common Version, 
rose^ although it is probable that a flower of the crocus species is 
denoted, namely, Colchicum autumnale, or meadow sailron, a bulbous 
plant, with large and delicate flowers of white and violet. (See 
Gesen. Thes. on ni?nn. The maiden does not mean to extol her 

personal charms, but rather to represent her beauty as nothing 
extraordinary. The flower arises immediately from the bulb, upon 
a long, naked tube. A description of the plant, with a colored 
representation of both the bulb and flower, may be seen in Wood- 
ville's Medical Botany, vol. iv. p. 759. 

3. — apple-tree. The corresponding word in Arabic denotes not 
only the apple, but orange, quince, citron, peach, and apricot trees. 
The Hebrew word may have been used in the same general sense. 
But perhaps the apple, though not so beautiful and fragrant as the 
citron-tree, may have had a poetic value from the comparative rarity 
which Forskall ascribes to it. An apple-tree, loaded with fruit among 
the barren trees of the wood, would be a sufficient foundation for the 
comparison. H. B. Tristram, in his Travels in the East, London, 1866, 
p. 600, gives some weighty, but not decisive, reasons for supposing that 
the apricot, rather than the apple, tree is denoted here. — shadow. 
It is to be recollected that shade is an essential article of Oriental 
luxury. Dr. Pococke tells us, "when he was at Sidon he was 
entertained in a garden, in the shade of some apricot-trees, and the 
fruit of them was shaken upon him." (Description of the East, 
vol. ii. p. 95.) 

4. — hanqueting-house ; literally, house of wine. (Comp. Esth. vii. 8.) 
There seems, however, to be good reason for the opinion of Doderlein, 
who understands the expression, to lead to his banqueting-house, in a fig- 



THE CANTICLES. 835 

urative sense, as denoting that the beloved is, as it were, intoxicating 
the maiden with love. Compare a similar metaphor in Isa. xxix. 9 ; 
11. 21. So Umbreit, Gesenius, and Rosenmiiller, "Experiri me 
fecit dilectus mens, quam suavis sit." The verse following seems to 
fiivor this explanation. House of wine may, however, denote vineyard, 
— banner over me, &c. ; i.e., I follow the banner or standard of love 
which my beloved holds up before me, as soldiers follow the standard 
of their commander and never desert it. — Strengthen me with raisins; 
or, more strictly, raisin-cakes. They are mentioned, in 2 Sam. vi. 19, 
and 1 Chron. xvi. 3, as delicacies with which the weary and languid 
are refreshed ; also, in Hos. iii. 1, as offered in sacrifice. The mean- 
ing cakes is expressed in most of the ancient versions. 

6. His left hand. In this situation the spouse is represented as 
reclining upon a divan, where she falls into a quiet slumber, supported 
by her beloved. 

7. — by the gazelles. It is common for different classes to swear 
by that which is most dear to them, — the warrior by his sword, the 
prophet by his soul, &c. ; so the daughters of Jerusalem are adjured 
by what is dear to them, namely, beauty, as it is manifested in the 
gazelles and the hinds. The Hebrew term denoting the gazelle origi- 
nally denoted splendor or beauty ; and the animal is used by the Arabs, 
as well as the Hebrews, as the emblem of what is extremely elegant 
and beautiful. To be said to have the eyes of a gazelle is the highest 
compliment that can be paid to an Eastern lady. (See Gesen. on 
'i^^.) — nor awake, &c. "In the East," says Roberts, ''it would be 

considered barbarous in the extreme to awake a person out of his 
sleep. How often, in going to the house of a native, you are saluted 
with, ' Mttera-kuUa-karar,' i.e., ' He sleeps.' Ask them to arouse him ; 
the reply is, ' Koodatha,^ i.e., ' I cannot.' Indeed, to request such a 
thing shows at once that you are a griffin, i.e., a new-comer. ' Only 
think of that ignorant Englishman : he went into the house of our 
chief, and, being told he was asleep, made such a noise as to awake 
him, and then laughed at what he had done.'" 

8. The voice of my beloved, &c. Some suppose that these and the fol- 
lowing words were the substance of a dream, which the fair one had in 
the sleep mentioned in the last verse ; but it is a mere supposition, 
and not very probable. As there is no connection between the train 
of thought in this passage and the close of the last chapter, we conclude 
that it forms a distinct idyl or song. It adds to the liveliness of the 
description, that the fair one is represented in a listening attitude, hear- 
ing the voice of her beloved before he appears in sight. 



836 NOTES. 

9. — gazelle, &c. "These animals are elegantly formed, active, 
restless, timid, shy, and astonishingly swift, running with vast bounds, 
and springing or leaping with surprising elasticity. They frequently 
stop for a moment in the midst of their course to gaze at their pur- 
suers, and then resume their flight.'' (See Kobinson's Calmet, art. 
"Antelope.") 

12. — time of the singing, &c. As the word ^^"Dl denotes cutting or 

pruning, as well as singing, most of the ancient versions understand the 
line, " The time for pruning the vines has come.'' Gesenius also 
adopts this rendering. But the common rendering is favored by the 
parallelism, the voice of the turtle, i.e., the turtle-dove, &c., also by the 
circumstance that there is an allusion to the vine in the next verse. 
As to the objection, that ^^^T, where it denotes singing elsewhere in 

the Old Testament, refers to the artificial singing of men, the answer 
is, first, that the singing of birds is not often referred to in the Old 
Testament by any expression ; secondly, if it does usually denote the 
artificial singing of men, the term may yet be used in a figurative sense 
by a poet to denote the singing of birds. Nothing is more common in 
English poetry ; for instance, " wood-wofes wild," " the cock's shrill 
clarion,'^ — turtle, &c. Tlie turtle-dove is mentioned as a bird of pas- 
sage (Jer. viii. 7). Forskall, the companion of Niebuhr, mentions it as 
one of the birds of passage which appear at Alexandria about the end 
of April or beginning of May. (See his Descriptio Animal., p. 9.) 

13. — is spicing, &c. The Hebrew term {ItO^n is used in Gen. 1. 2, 

8, 26, to denote the embalming of a dead body ; hence it seems to me 
more probable that it denotes here to fill with rich, fragrant juice, rather 
than, generally, to ripen. So Eosenmiiller, Umbreit, and De Wette. 

14. my dove, &c. Here the wild dove, which hides itself from 
birds of prey, or firom the approach of man in cliffs of rocks, is used as 
an emblem of the fair one, unwilling to leave her house to meet her 
lover. (See Jer. xlviii. 28; Hom. II., xxi. 494; Yirg. ^n., v. 213.) 

*Gcrre Tre^fia, 
*H /5a i9' i'tt' IprjKog KOi\r)v elaEnraTO nerprjv, 
XTjpa/xov ov 6' apa ry ye dTiciifLevai alatfLov 7]£V, 

" Qualis spelunca subito commota columba, 
Cui domus et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi," &c. 

15. Take ye for us the foxes, &c. The maiden having come forth to 
enjoy the spring, the vineyards, &c., it is natural for her now to give 
directions to have the vineyard made as pleasant as possible by the 



THE CANTICLES. 837 

removal of noxious animals. A similar allusion to foxes is found in 
The-)critus, Idyl. v. 112: — 

Mlgeg) Tag daavKepKOvg okcoireKag ^ at ra Mlkuvoc 

Alel (poLTibaai to, izodeoTzepa payi^ovTat, 

*' I hate those brush-tailed foxes, that each night 
Spoil My con's vineyards with their deadly spite." 

— now in blossom. Sept. Kvrrpii^ovac. So Gesenius, Umbreit, and Ewald. 
(Comp. ver. 13 and vii. 12.) 

16. — he feedeth, &c. The Hebrew verb Tl^^ has the same ambi- 
guity as the English feed. It may mean to feed a flock, as in eh. i. 7, 
or it may mean to feed one's self. I am inclined to understand it of 
feeding a flock. Perhaps the flock may have been in an enclosure 
in the garden or park. It is a recommendation of the beloved to 
the maiden, that he is a gentle shepherd feeding his flock among the 
lilies. 

17. When the day breathes. This is understood by many of the 
morning ; but the more recent commentators, as Gesenius and Rosen- 
miiller, refer it to sunset or the evening. This is most probable ; for 
a grateful, cool breeze is said to spring up at that time. At that time, 
too, the shadows flee away, i.e., continually lengthen themselves, till 
they are lost in the darkness of the night. So, Gen. iii. 8, the cool, 
literally, the breeze, of the day seems to be in contrast with the heat of 
the day, ch. xviii. 1. So here, after the still sultry heat, the day is 
said to breathe. The particle 15> ^^^^ translated when, seems to be 
equivalent to lllii^^ 1^, ch. i. 12. — craggy mountains; literally, moun- 
tains of division; i.e., by a well-known Hebraism, mountains divided or 
cut up, cleft, &c. So the Sept. bpri Kot'XufidTuv, mountains of cavities. 

Ch. III. 1. This is evidently the beginning of a new song. There 
seems to be no appearance of a dream ; and in ancient times a dream 
was regarded of so much importance, that the author would have 
mentioned it if he had intended to describe one here. As to any 
thing inconsistent with probability or propriety, which some have 
alleged in favor of its being understood as a dream or as an allegory, 
it appears to me that the author would not be more likely to violate 
probability or propriety in a poetic dream or in an allegory than in 
the ordinary products of his imagination. 

3. Have you seen him, &c. It is a natural circumstance, that the 
maiden takes it for granted that all the world knows the object of her 
attachment, though she does not mention his name. 

15 



338 NOTES. 

4. — into my mother's house, &c. Rosenmiiller says, " It is improba- 
ble that a modest female among the Hebrews would do such a thing, 
and therefore it is to be understood allegorically." But it is as im- 
proba]>le that a Hebrew poet would represent a modest female as doing 
what is improper for an allegorical purpose, as for any other. The 
passage is, indeed, obscure ; but the supposition of allegory does not 
make it clearer. Hodgson remarks on this verse : " It hath been sup- 
posed that this poem was written by Solomon on his marriage with 
the daughter of Pharaoh. But this passage seems to prove that the 
person here married was not Pharaoh's daughter ; for, if she had been 
Pharaoh's daughter, her mother's house would have been in Egypt : 
whereas this scene hes at Jerusalem ; for in the next line she addresses 
the daughters of Jerusalem, and desires them not to disturb her sleep- 
ing husband." 

Ch. III. 6-11. The design of this song is commonly supposed to 
be that of describing a nuptial procession, in which the bride of Solo- 
mon is led to the palace, in company with himself, in his sedan or 
carriage. According to the theory of one dramatic poem, Solomon is 
riding with the Shulamite. 

6. Who is this, &c. The poet speaks, or perhaps a choir of the 
daughters of Jerusalem. — f?'om the wilderness- ^!m>3 denotes, not 
merely a desert, but what we call the country in distinction from the 
city. (See Gesen. Lex.) Otherwise, from the wilderness msiy denote 
that the person was coming from the direction of the wilderness. 
— pillars of smoke. It is commonly supposed, that the slender and 
graceful form of the bride, gradually increasing in tallness as she came 
nearer, is compared to the light and beautiful column of smoke which 
ascends from a burning censer of incense. Mercier observes that " it 
is a tradition of the Jews, that the smoke of incense should go up 
perpendicularly, and that artists were called from Alexandria to 
make the smoke of incense ascend as straight as possible." He 
does not give his authority. But, as the sedan of Solomon is men- 
tioned in the next verse, is it probable that the bride was on foot ? Is 
it not more probable that the dust caused by the approach of the sedan 
and its attendants is compared to columns of smoke 1 Or might not 
the pillars of smoke actually ascend from censers borne in front of the 
procession ? " The use of perfumes at Eastern marriages is common, 
and upon grand occasions very profuse. Not only are the garments 
scented, till, in the Psalmist's language, they smell of myrrh, aloes, 
and cassia, but it is customary for virgins to meet and lead the proces- 



THE CANTICLES. 339 

fiion with silver-gilt pots of perfumes ; and sometimes even the air 
around is rendered fragrant by the burning of aromatics in the win- 
dows of all the houses in the streets through which the procession is 
to pass. In the present instance, so liberally were these rich perfumes 
burnt, that at a distance a pillar or pillars of smoke arose from them ; 
and the perfume was so rich as to exceed in value and fragrancy all 
the powders of the merchant." Williams. Nothing is said of the 
bride. It is possible, then, that Solomon alone may have been in 
the carriage. — powders; i.e., aromatic powders. 

7. — carriage; i.e., a kind of open vehicle, now usually called a 
palanquin, in which the great men of the East are carried, sometimes 
upon elephants or camels, and at other times on men's shoulders. 
Niebuhr says a palanquin, completely ornamented with silver, covered 
with rich stuffs, and suspended on a handsome bamboo, will cost about 
two hundred pounds sterling. (Travels, vol. ii. p. 410.) 

10. The railing. The back and side railing, on which to lean or 
recline. — by a lovely one. (See ch. ii. 7, iii. 5.) So Ewald. 

11. — in the crown, &c. It was usual with many nations to put 
crowns or garlands on the heads of new-married persons. The Mishna 
informs us that this custom prevailed among the Jews ; and it seems, 
from the passage before us, that the ceremony of putting it on waa 
performed by one of the parents. Among the Greeks, the bride waa 
crowned by her mother, as appears from the instance of Iphigenia, in 
Euripides, ver. 894. " In the Greek Church in Egypt," says Maillet, 
*' the parties are placed before a reading-desk, on which is the book of 
the Gospels, having two crowns upon it of flowers, cloth, or tinsel. 
The priest, after benedictions and prayers, places one on the bride- 
groom's, the other on the bride's, head, covering both with a veil." 
(See Rosenmiiller, Alten und Neues Morgenland, vol. iv. p. 196. Sel- 
den's Uxor Hebraica, lib. ii. cap. 15.) 

Ch. IV.- Y. 1. This canticle seems to include ch. iv. and the first 
verse of ch. v. It appears to contain a lover's praise of his mistress, 
and her replies. 

1. — behind thy veil. So Hafiz : " Thy cheeks sparkle even under thy 
veil." Sir W. Jones's Works, vol. i. p. 453. Another Persian poet 
gays, " It is difficult to gaze upon the sun without the medium of a 
cloud. View, therefore, O Saieb! the lovely face of thy mistress 
through her veil." Orient. Coll., vol. ii. p. 23. — Jlock of goats, &c. 
Her hair was black and thick, like a flock of goats showing itself on 
the top of a mountain to one in the distance below. 



840 NOTES. 

2. — teeth ; fbr whiteness, brightness, fulness, and soundness, they 
are compared to a shorn flock just coming clean from the washing- 
place. 

3. — divided pomegranate ; which, in its prime, says Rosenmiiller, 
has a beautiful red color, i.e., when cut in two, equalling or surpassing 
that of the rose. So Camoens^ Lusiad, Cant. ix. 69, translated by 
Mickle : — 

" The pomegranate of orange hue, 
Whose open heart a brighter red displays 
Than that which sparkles in the ruby's blaze." 

4. — the tower of David; which was probably built of white marble, 
high and elegant. Upon the outside of towers it was the custom to 
hang shields, probably as a terror to enemies. (See Ezek. xxvii. 10, 
11.) To the splendid shields and arms with which the tower of David 
was adorned, are compared the necklaces and jewels which adorned 
the neck of the maiden. 

6. — gazelles. (See the note on ch. ii. 7.) Probably the reference 
is to their general beauty and loveliness. 

6. — day breathes, &c. See the note on ch. ii. 17. — mountain of 
myrrh, &e. It is said of Pompey the Great, that, when he passed over 
Lebanon and by Damascus, he passed through sweet-smelhng groves 
and woods of frankincense and balsam. Florus, Epitome Eerum 
Rom., lib. iii. c. 6 : *' Per nemora ilia odorata, per thuris et balsami 
sylvas.*' This quotation is brought to show, not that the bride was 
actually on a hill of myrrh, &c., but that such hills of myrrh and 
incense were supposed to exist, and might afford a subject for com- 
parison. The bride seems to be here compared, as respects her gen- 
eral charms, to a mountain of myrrh, &c., to whom the lover says he 
will return as the antelope flies to the mountain. So Ewald. So 
some of the Eastern poets represent angels as having bodies of amber 
and musk Thus the poet Assadi says, "Eeridoun and Farrakh were 
not angels ; their bodies were made neither of amber nor musk ; it 
was their justice and liberality that made them celebrated." (See 
Harmer's Outlines, p. 290.) Grotius, who is followed by Dr. Good, 
supposes the comparison to be somewhat more definite, referring to 
her bosom alone : " Sic vocat mammas ob suavissimum odorem." 
Grot, The meaning may be, however, that the lover would return to 
the place where she was, where the odor of her charms was diffused. 
So Doderlein. 

8. Come with me from Lebanon, &c. Verses 8 and 9 seem to be intro- 
duced very abruptly, and their import in this connection is not very 



THE CANTICLES. 841 

obvious. Doderlein and others suppose them to be an invitation to 
the bride to take an excursion with him, in order that they might 
admire together all that was grand and beautiful in scenery. Others 
suppose them to be an invitation to the maiden to come from a place 
of danger to a place of complete security in the arms of her lover. 

9. — taken captive my heart; literally, hearted me; according to the 
English idiom to skin, for to take off the skin. Others suppose the word 
/o mean, Thou hast given me heart, or encouraged me. — sistei' ; a term 
if endearment. So the Romans. (Comp. TibuU. iii. 1, 26.) — one of 
ihine eyes. How powerful must be both united when only one does 
such execution! (Comp. ch. vi. 5.) It has been remarked, that, 
" supposing the royal bridegroom to have had a profile, or side-view, 
of his bride in the present instance, only one eye, or one side of her 
necklace, would be observable ; yet this charms and overpowers him." 
Probably, however, the Hebrew poet intended what others mean to 
express by one glance of the eye, &c. Parallel passages might be 
quoted from many Eastern poets. The song of Ibrahim says, " One • 
dart from your eyes has pierced through my heart." And, in the 
songs of Gitagovinda, we find one acknowledging himself '* bought as 
a slave by a single glance from thine eye and a toss of thy disdainful 
eyebrow." (Asiat. Kesearch., vol. iii. p. 203.) TertuUian, however, 
mentions a custom in the East of women unveiling only one eye in 
conversation, while they keep the other covered ; and Niebuhr men- 
tions a similar custom as prevailing in some parts of Arabia. ( Travels 
in Arabia, vol. i. p. 262.) 

11. Thy lips, «Sbc. Here the sweetness of her voice rather than her 
kisses is denoted. (Comp. Prov. v. 3.) So Hom., II. i. 249 : — 

Tov Kal UTTO yTiLOGGTig p-iTuTog yTiVKCuv ()iev avdrj. 

And Theocritus, viii. 82 : — 

^k6v TL TO OTOpa TOL, KOI k(l>iUepog, L) AcKpVL, (jXDVa' 

KpeoGov peTiTTopevcj rev uKovepev tj pi?iL ?\,eLX£i'V." 

12. A garden enclosed, &c. The bride is compared to a fragrant 
garden, a refreshing spring, in respect to her charms ; and to a garden 
enclosed, a fountain sealed, in respect to her chastity and fidelity. That 
fountains or wells, as well as gardens, were sometimes locked up in 
the East, see Harmer, Obs., vol. i. p. 113. That this kind of distant 
imagery is common in the East appears from the following passages : — 
'* Feirouz, a vizier, having divorced his wife upon suspicion of infi- 
delity, her brothers apply for redress in the following figurative terms : 
* My lord, we have rented to Eelrouz a most delightful garden, a ter- 



342 NOTES. 

restial paradise ; he took possession of it, encompassed it with high 
walls, and planted it with the most beautiful trees that bloomed with 
flowers and fruit. He has broken down the walls, plucked the tender 
flowers, devoured the finest fruit, and would now restore us this gar- 
den robbed of every thing that contributed to render it delicious when 
we gave him admission to it/" (Miscell. of Eastern Learning, vol. i. 
p. 12.) In a famous Persian romance, a princess assures her husband 
of her fidelity in his absence, in these terms : *' The jewels of the 
treasury of secrecy are still the same as they were, and the casket is 
sealed with the same seal." (Bahur Danush, vol. iii. p. 65. See Wil- 
liams's Sol. Song, p. 278. See also Prov. v. 18.) 

13. Thy plants ; or shoots, I do not understand this of children, as 
do most of the commentators, but of the graces and charms of the 
bride. In the last verse she was compared to a garden. In pursuance 
of the same metaphor, her charms are compared to odoriferous plants. 
— Henna, &c. See the note on ch. i. 14. 

15. A fountain of the gardens ; i.e., a spring that waters many gardens. 

16. Awake, north wind, &c. By calhng on the north wind at the 
same time with the south, the maiden expresses the wish that the 
united influence of the principal winds that blew might shake the plants, 
and cause the fragrance of the garden to be exhaled and diff'used. 
Having been compared to a garden, she says, in substance, " that 
the garden were more fragrant," &c. 

Ch. V. 1. — my spouse; i.e., betrothed. — honeycomb, otherwise, 
honey-dripping, &c. ; i.e., that which spontaneously overflows or drips 
from the combs or hives. (See Ges. and Fiirst on "l?"^.) — drink 
abundantly, my beloved. The Hebrew admits quite as well of the render- 
ing, drink abundantly of love, or make yourselves drunk with love. So 
King James's translators in the margin. But the parallelism and the 
connection seem most favorable to the Common Version. 

Ch. v. 2- YI. 3. The circumstances introduced into this piece are 
undoubtedly imaginary ; but I perceive no decisive indication that the 
poet designs to narrate a dream. There is considerable resemblance 
between this piece and the third ode of Anacreon, beginning, 'M.eaovvKrioig 
TTod' dpatg. 

2. I slept, &c. The meaning is, that though the body was asleep, 
yet the mind was awake and filled with the object of her afiection, so 
that she heard and recognized the knock of her beloved as soon as it 
was given. 

S. 1 have taken off my vest. The frivolous and coquettish excuses 



THE CANTICLES. 843 

which she gives for not welcoming her lover are here represented. 
She had prepared herself, and jet pretended she did not like to rise. 
— vest; i.e., the inner garment, reaching to the knees, worn next 
the skin, commonly with sleeves. 

4. — bi/ the hole of the door, &c. Le Clerc has a long and learned 
note on the ancient mode of fastening a door. In this case, the door 
was probably secured by a crossbar or bolt, which at night was fastened 
by a little button or pin. In the upper part of the door was left a 
round hole, through which any person from without might thrust his 
arm and remove the bar, unless the security of the pin were super- 
added. 

5. — self-flowing myrrh ; i.e., that which spontaneously flows from 
^he tree, without cutting or puncturing the bark. This was consid- 
3red the most valuable kind. The myrrh which dropped from her 
hands was that which her beloved had left upon the wooden bar of the 
door. This may be understood figuratively, that the moisture of 
the beloved^s hands wet with dew was like fragrant myrrh, perfuming 
every thing which came in contact with it ; or a custom may have 
prevailed in the East similar to that which is mentioned by Lucretius, 
iv. 1171; — 

" At lacrymans exclusus amator limina saepe 
Floribus et sertis operit, postesque superbos 
Unguit Amaracino, et foribus miser oscula figit.'* 

6. / was not in my senses ; literally. My soul was gone from me. The 
meaning most suited to the connection is, that she acted insanely in 
not admitting her beloved at his request. It seems to denote that 
bewilderment of the faculties caused by fear, as in Gen. xhi. 28, or by 
any other passion ; here, by the passion of love. 

7. The watchmen — wounded ?ne, &c. ; i.e., treated me as a lewd, 
abandoned woman. The same thing is intimated by taking away the 
veil, in the next line. (Comp. Isa. xxii. 8; Nahum iii. 5.) So Hafiz, 
in a passage quoted by Dr. Good, speaking of the wife of Potiphar 
under the name of Zuleikhah : — 

" Led captive by the victor charms 
O'er Joseph's face that play, 
Her veil of chastity at length 
Zuleikhah flings away." 

11. — fine gold; referring to general splendor and beauty. So 
Theocritus, Idyl. iii. 28, speaks of the golden Helen. — palm- 
branches. So in Amrolkais, Moallakah, ver. 33, quoted by RosenmuJ 
ler, a lover describes the hair of his mistress : ** Et capilli, qui tergum 



344 NOTES. 

ornant, nigri, carbonis instar, densi sicut racemi palmae impliciti.*'' 
Any one who will look at a good representation of the palm-tree — for 
instance, that in the work of Laborde on Arabia Petraea -^ will per 
ceive a foundation for this comparison. 

12. Washed with milk. This is commonly supposed to denote their 
milk-white color. In Job xxix. 6, to wash the steps in milk denotes to 
have great abundance of it ; and we are told by Roberts, the mission- 
ary, that to be washed with milk is now a proverb in Hindostan, 
denoting to be in a good and happy condition. (See Roberts.) But 
the former explanation seems most suitable to this passage. — dwell- 
ing in fulness. n5<b?3"b3> PiDD'^. I have rendered this phrase liter- 
ally, because I consider the meaning as quite doubtful. It seems most 
probable that it refers to the pigeons, and not to their eyes, and illus- 
trates their plump appearance, arising from their dwelling near full 
streams or full fields. So the Sept. and Vulg. The translation of the 
Common Version seems forced. It supposes an allusion to a diamond 
set in the foil of a ring, denoting that the eyes are neither too much 
depressed nor too prominent, but well filling the sockets. (See the 
note on ch. i. 15.) 

13. — a bed of balsam. Thus paraphrased by Bishop Patrick : 
" The lovely down upon his cheeks is no less grateful ; rising there 
like spices when they first appear out of their beds ; or like the young 
buds of aromatic flowers in the paradise before described ; where the 
purple lilies are not more beautiful than his lips, from whence flow 
words more precious and more pleasant than the richest and most fra- 
grant myrrh." The dropping of the lips may, however, refer to the 
sweet breath. Sadi, the Persian poet, describing a young man, says, 
" He had just arrived at the opening blossom of youth, and the down 
had but newly spread itself over the flower of his cheek." Sullivan's 
Pables from Gulistan, p. 3, quoted by WilUaras ad loc. It is possible, 
however, that there may be some reference to the beard, which was 
regarded with almost religious reverence in the East. D'Arvieux 
says, in ch. vii. of his Travels in Arabia, " One of the principal cere- 
monies in important visits is to throw some sweet water upon the 
beard, and then to perfume it with the smoke of lignum aloes, that 
sticks to this moisture and gives it an agreeable smell." And, in the 
same chapter, " The women kiss their husband's beards, and the chil- 
dren their father's, when they go to salute them : the men kiss one 
another's reciprocally, when they salute one another in the streets, or 
are come from some journey." 

14. His hands are gold rings. This comparison has reference to the 



THE CANTICLES. 345 

general beauty of his hands and fingers, and the brilliancy of their 
ornaments. Some suppose there is a reference to the nails, stained 
with henna, according to the custom of the Arabians. (See the note 
on eh. i. 14.) — sapphires. The Oriental sapphire is transparent, of a 
fine sky color, sometimes variegated with veins of a white sparry sub- 
stance, and distinct, separate spots of a gold color. Hence the prophet 
describes the throne of God as like sapphire ; Ezek. i. 26 ; x. 1. Pliny, 
Nat. Hist, xxxvii. 9, says, " Coeruleis, interdum cum purpura, quae et 
aureis punctis coUucent, ac coeli speciem referunt.*' 

15. — like Lebanon, In the manly dignity of his appearance he is 
compared to the beautiful but majestic Lebanon, with its proud cedars. 
Volney says, in his description of Lebanon (Travels, vol. i. p. 293), 
" At every step we meet with scenes in which nature displays either 
beauty or grandeur." — like the cedars ; i.e., pre-eminent among men 
as the cedars among the trees of the forest. Gabriel Sionita, quoted 
by Dr. Harris, in his Nat. Hist, of the Bible, says, ** The cedar grows 
on the most elevated part of the mountain, is taller than the pine, and 
so thick that five men together could scarcely fathom one." 

16. His mouth ; hterally, his palate, which many suppose to be used as 
the instrument of speech, as in Prov. viii. 7, Job xxxi. 30. But, com- 
paring the word with ch. vii. 9 (10), it seems quite as probable that it 
is a euphemism, denoting the moisture or saliva of a kiss. (See Gesen. 
Thes. on Tin, and tha note on ch. vii. 9. It is the same word as is 
here in the Common Version rendered mouth, and, in ch. vii. 9, roof of 
his mouth.) 

Ch. VI. 4. Tirzah, The word itself denotes pleasantness, a name 
given to a city which w^as the capital of the kingdom of Israel from 
the time of Jeroboam to tliat of Omri. It was probably beautiful in 
regard to its situation as well as its buildings. — as Jerusalem. So, 
Lam. ii. 15, " Is this the city that men called the perfection of beauty, 
the joy of the whole earth 1 " — terrible as an army, &c. ( Comp. ch. 
ii. 4.) The loved one is represented as conquering, wounding, taking 
captive the hearts of lovers wdth her eyes, &c. Th# j^iea is carried 
out in the next verse. So Anacreon, Ode ii. : — 

Tvvai^lv ovK er' elxsv, 

Tl ovv ; dldoci KokTuog 

^Avt' aamdcov aTraauv, 

'Avr' kyxet>>v cnravTuv 

'Slkq. de Kal oldT/pov, 

Kdi TTvp KaTiij tlq ovaa. 
15* 



346 NOTES. 

And again, Ode xvi. : — 

Oii;^ LTTKog coleoev fie, 
Ov ne^og, ovxl vfjeg' 
liTpaTog de Kacvog uA^f, 
'Att' OfLjuuTuv fie puXkuv. 

In the same way, the Arabian poets compare the eyes of virgins to 
Bwords and darts, their eyebrows to bows, &c., with which they wound 
and kill. In fact, the same representation is common to all languages 
Cupid is armed with his bow and arrow. And yet Dr. Good makes 
the tasteless remark, that the epithet terrible is obviously inappropriate, 
and gives the term H^S^i^ the forced meaning, dazzling, 
5-7. (Seech, iv. \-Z.) 

8. — queens, — concubines, — maidens, Solomon is said, in 1 Kings 
xi. 3, to have had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. 
Hence some who regard this piece as written by Solomon, suppose it 
to have been written at an earlier period of his reign than that referred 
to in Kings. Rosenmiiller, however, supposes an indefinite use of 
numbers; and this seems most probable. 

9. — the one; i.e., the matchless one. For this use of the term tinijl, 
see Ezek. vii. 5, and Gesen. Lex. ad verb. 

10. — like the morning. So Theocritus, Idyl, xviii. 26 : — 

'Awf avrk'KkoiGa Ka'hhv 6i£<paLve TrpocuTTOv, 
TloTvia vv^ are, aevkov eap ;t;ei/zaivof avevTog, 
^Q6e Kal d xp^^^<^ 'EAiva 6LS(paivET' kv dfuv. 

— as the moon. So, in Lane's Arabian Nights, vol. i. p. 29, " When 1 
beheld her, I thought that the moon had descended to the earth." 

12. — made me like the chariots, &c. The meaning seems to be, that 
her strong desire conveyed her thither as swift as the chariots, &c. 

— of the prince's train. (See Gesen. Thes. on t!P.) Otherwise, placed 
me among the chariots of my noble people, 

13. Return, return. This seems to be spoken by a chorus of women 
who regretted her speedy departure. — as upon a dance of the hosts ; 
i.e., with eyes as fixed and earnest as upon some very uncommon 
exhibition or spectacle. This may be the language of one of the com- 
pany. As to what is meant by a dance of the hosts, it is difficult to form' 
a decided opinion : Gesenius, who is followed by De Wette, supposes 
the angelic host to be denoted, to whom dancing is ascribed, as else- 
where singing. (Corap. Gen. xxxi. 2; Job xxxviii. 7.) Otherwise, 
as upon a dance of two companies ; or, as in a dance of two companies 1 



THE CANTICLES. 847 

i.e., with such earnest ejes as dancers in two rows look upon each 
other. 

Ch. YII. 1. — sandals. How important an article of dress were 
sandals to an Eastern lady is shown in Judith xvi. 9, where we read 
that the sandals of Judith ravished the eyes of Holophernes. — neck 
ornaments ; i.e., bosses or knobs, of which a necklace was composed. 
She is also represented as KaTCkinvyog, 

2. — the spiced wine ; mentioned merely to set off the beauty and 
richness of the cup. — heap of wheats &c. Perhaps a heap of wheat 
enclosed with liUes was chosen as an illustration, not merely for its 
appearance, but as an emblem of fertility. " Wheat and barley," says 
Selden, ** were, among the ancient Hebrews, emblems of fertility ; and 
it was usual for standers-by to scatter these grains upon the married 
couple, with a wish tliat they might increase and multiply." (Uxor 
Hebraica, lib. ii. cap. 15.) It has been conjectured, that the heaps of 
wheat were, during the joyous time of harvest, covered with flowers, 
especially with lilies. 

4. — ivory. So a neck of ivory, k'k£(f>avTivog rpaxv^og, is ascribed 
by Anacreon to Bathyllus, Ode xxix. — pools at Heshhon ; i.e., moist, 
dark, and bright. Burckhardt thus speaks of the remains of this city : 
" At six hours and a quarter [from El Aal, probably the Elealeh of 
the Scriptures] is Heshbon, upon a hill bearing southwest from El Aal. 
Here are the ruins of a large ancient town, together with the remains 
of some edifices built with small stones ; a few broken shafts of columns 
are still standing, a number of wells cut in the rock, and a large reser- 
voir of vxLter for the summer supply of the inhabitants." (Travels, 
p. 365.) — tower of Lebanon. The nose may have been compared to 
that tower for its height, straightness, and good proportions. The 
allegorists suppose that the tower-like nose denotes the judgment and 
discernment of the doctors of the Church. 

6. — Carmel ; with its beautiful and verdant summit of oaks and 
pines. (See the article in Robinson's Calmet under this word, with 
its copious extracts from Oriental travellers. Comp. Isa. xxxv. 2.) 
— like purple. As there can be little doubt of the correctness of 
this translation, I suppose the point of comparison is the glossy 
brightness of the locks rather than the color of them. Black was the 
beautiful color for the hair. 

7. — palm-tree. This tree received its name ^^D from its straight, 
upright growth. It is one of the loftiest of trees, sometimes rising to 
the height of a hundred feet. It is one of the most celebrated trees 



348 NOTES. 

in the world for its beauty and its uses. — dates; the fruit of the 
palm-tree which grows in clusters below the leaves. (See Harris's 
Nat. Hist., «&c., or Robinson's Calmet.) 

9. — that goeth down smoothly^ &c. (See Prov. xxiii. 31.) That the 
maidiin or spouse speaks here, taking up the thread of the discourse, is 
evident from the fact that ^^i'l, my beloved, which occurs often in the 
Canticles, is always applied to the man, never to the maiden. Other- 
wise, ^^IT must have been brought into the text from the next verse 
by mistake. — flowing over the lips, &c. So, in Lane's Arabian 
Nights, vol. ii. p. 561, " The moisture of his mouth is like pleasant 
wine, that would cool me when a fire flameth within me." Gesenius, 
in his Thesaurus on the word ^^'^, thus translates and comments : 
** Palatum tuum est instar vini dulcis (significatur saliva palati) recta 
fluens ad suavium raeum, perreptans labia una dormientium (in eodem toro 
cubantium). Vereor enim ne recte ita interpretati sint Driessenius in 
Dissert. Lugd. p. 1101, &c., et Michaelis in Suppl. p. 385, de basio 
nimirum impudico, neque magis hujus in vetere carmine amatorio 
mentionem mireris, quam paulo ante (vii. 8) explendae libidinis. Sali- 
vam ab osculantibus imbibendam crebris sermonibus et figuris usur- 
pant Arabes, v. Hug ad Cant. p. 49, v. d. Sloot ad Carm. Togr. p. 134, 
Ibn Doreid, pp. 113, 114, Scheid. cf. Saad. apud Aben Esram ad Cant. 
i. 2." (See also Rosenmiiller ad loc.) 

11. Come, my beloved, &c. It is doubtful whether a new piece com- 
mences here, or whether what follows to ch. viii. 5, is a part of the 
preceding canticle. The passage reminds us of one in Milton, Par. 
Lost, iv. 610 : — 

*' To-morrow, ere fresh morning streak the east 
With first approach of light, we must be risen, 
And at our pleasant labor, to reform 
Yon flowery arbors, yonder alleys green. 
Those blossoms also, and those dropping gums 
That lie bestrewn, unsightly and unsmooth, 
Ask riddance." 

13. — love-apples. Such is the etymological signification of the 
word which was given to this fruit from its supposed properties. ( See 
Gen. XXX. 14, &c.) The fruit is that of the mandragora (Atropa man- 
dragora of Linnaeus). Gesenius thus describes the plant: *'It has 
large leaves, like those of a beet ; a root like that of a turnip, divided 
at the lower part, and somewhat resembling the human form ; used in 
the preparation of love-potions, having white and reddish blossoms, 
vellow and fragrant apples, which may be eaten, about the size of a 



THE CANTICLES. 349 

small eggy ripening from May to July, and to which the Orientals in 
ancient and modern times ascribe an efficacy in increasing philopro- 
genitiveness and fruitfulness." (See Gesen. Thesaurus on the word 
"^n^*!, and the numerous authorities, ancient and modern, to which he 
refers. See also Harris's Nat. Hist, and Robinson's Calmet.) — kept 
them for thee, &c. So Virgil, Eel. i. 37 ; — 

" Mirabar, quid, moesta, deos, Amaiylli, yocares, 
Cui pendere sua patereris in arbore poma. 
Tityrus hinc aberat." 

Ch. VIII. 1. — as my brother; i.e., as a little infant child, whom 
she might caress in public as well as in private without impropriety. 

2. — teach me ; i.e., how to please thee, &c. 

6. Who is this, &c. This is probably the language of the poet ; 
or it may be supposed to be the language of a choir. — from the 
wilderness ; i.e., the country, in distinction from the city. — / excited 
thy love; i.e., inspired thee with affection to me. This took place 
under the apple-tree, which has been regarded as peculiarly the tree 
of love. The following is the note of Rosenmiilier : " Cydoniam 
malum apud aUos quoque populos amoribus dicatam fuisse, observat 
Celsius, Hierobot.y p. i. p. 263. * Apud -^gyptios connubii symbolum 
fuit. Zvyirjg oviiSoT^v na(l)t7]g, Veneris jugce tesseram, appellat Arabicus 
in Epigrammate. Nempe Veneri, ut Dearum formosissimae, a Paride 
addictum fuit. Venus igitur in statuis cydonium dextra gerit. Cupi- 
dines ex hortis malorum primitias legunt, illisque ludunt. 01 fiev yap 
dia Tov fiTfXov nalCovTeg nodov upxovraiy nam qui porno ludunt, amoris initium 
faciunt, dicit Philostratus, Icon. 1. i. p. 738. Hinc to fiTjTioSoXelv, malis 
petere, malum mittere, malum dare, loquutiones frequentes apud Graecos 
et Romanes. Vid. Theoc, Idyll, iii. 10, v. 88, vi. 6 ; Virg., Eel. iii. 
64, Aristophanis Scholiastes Nub. p. 180. yir}lo6olelv eT^eyov to etc 
u<l>po6iata deXea^ecv, erzel kg^ rd ftfjlov 'A^podiTTyf eoTtv iepbv malis petere 
dicebant ad venerea incitare, quippe malus Veneri est dicataJ " — brought 
thee forth, &c. So the Sept. udivyae ce. The meaning seems to be 
explained by the opinion referred to in the preceding note, namely, 
that the apple-tree is the tree of love. Thus the birth of the lover 
under the apple-tree would indicate his power of gaining the love of 
women. So Apollo is represented as born under a palm-tree. Some 
suppose that '?Itii5Sn may be rendered pledged thee. This would re- 
move a difficulty, but it does not seem to be supported by Hebrew 
usage. (See Gesenius on i^H.) 



850 NOTES. 

6. — set me as a seal, &c. This denotes intimate, inviolable union 
Thus, in Jer. xxii. 24 : — 

" As I live, saith Jehovah, 
Thou Coniah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, 
Though thou wert the signet upon my right hand^ 
Even thence would I pluck thee." 

Signet rings were worn by the Orientals not only upon the fingers, but 
on the bosom, suspended by an ornamental chain from the neck, &c. 
(See Rosenmiil. Alt. und Neues Morgenl., i. p. 183, and iv. p. 190. 
— true love ; Hi^-p , rendered jealousy in the Common Version, denotes 
any ardent feeling. (See Gesen. ad verb.) It is evident from the 
parallelism and from the connection, that it is here used simply as an 
intensive term for love in the preceding line. Love is strong, like 
death, inasmuch as it conquers all; and it is firm, like the grave, 
which never relaxes its hold on its tenants. 

7. Mamj waters, &c. Love is compared to fire in the preceding 
verse. In accordance with this, it is added that water cannot quench 
it. — for love ; i.e., to induce one to give up the love she has for a 
particular person, and transfer it to another. 

8-12. The subject of this little piece seems to be a conversation 
between two worldly-wise brotliers, relating to the marriage of their 
sister, together with her remarks. That the guardianship of females 
in regard to marriage belonged to their brothers, in the East, in ancient 
times, may be inferred from Gen. xxiv. 60, xxxiv. 13 ; Judges xxi. 22. 

8. — spoken for; i.e., asked in marriage. 

9. If she he a wall; i.e., if she* be inaccessible, unwilling to receive 
suitors, or to be married. — a silver tower. Rosenmiiller supposes the 
meaning to be, '' we will ask a high dowry for her." That portions 
were paid, in the East, to the father for the daughter, is well known. 
Thus, Jacob served seven years for each of his wives. So it is in 
modern times. "They bargain," says D'Arvieux, "about the price 
of the daughter, which the son-in-law is to pay his new father in 
camels, sheep, or horses. A young fellow that has a mind to marry 
must in good earnest buy him a wife ; and fathers among the Arabs 
are never happier than when they have abundance of daughters. 
They are the principal riches in a family : accordingly, when a bach- 
elor is treating with the person whose daughter he is desirous of 
marrying, he says to him, ' Will you give me your daughter for fifty 
sheep, for half a dozen camels, or for a dozen cows ? ' &c. If he is 
Qot in circumstances for making such offers as these, he proposes to 



THE CANTICLES. 851 

him to give him htr for a mare or colt, all, in short, according to the 
girl's merit, the condition of her family, and the income of the in- 
tended bridegroom. (Travels, p. 230, English translation.) But per- 
haps the meaning of building a silver tower upon the wall may he simply, 
that the brothers would adorn the sister with silver, in reward for her 
modesty. — an open gate; i.e., very desirous of being married, and 
give a very ready reception to a suitor. — with planks oj cedar ; i.e., 
we will take care to keep her in strict confinement, so that access to 
her shall be difficult. 

10. — am I become in his eyeSy &c. The idea of the sister seems to 
be, that, by modesty and difficulty of access to others, she shall the 
more surely win the favor of her accepted suitor. Perhaps the expres- 
sion, as one that Jindeth peace, may be a continuation of the preceding 
metaphor, the suitor being the besieger of the wall and tcwers. 

11. Solomon had a vineyard, &c. The vineyard of Solomon, from 
which he received a great income, seems to be brought in simply by 
way of contrast to that which the sister regarded as her own vine- 
yard, namely, her beauty or her person (comp. ch. i. 6) ; and to 
express the idea, that Solomon was welcome to his income, but that 
from her vineyard she did not wish for a pecuniary income. She 
would give her love for love, not for money. 

12. My vineyard is bejore my eyes ; i.e., I will not let it out to others, 
but keep in under my own inspection and care. 

13, 14. These two verses seem to form a fragment. So far as any 
general meaning is conveyed by them, it seems to be, that a lover 
desires a song of his mistress, but is refused and sent away. 

13. Friends, &c. ; i.e., my friends who are with me wait to hear thy 
voice. Otherwise, thy friends constantly hear it ; let me hear it too. 



THE END. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




019 971 805 8 




